Anthem of Deception
by Shadowolf27
Summary: AU/TF2: Whether she knows it or not, Annabelle Swift's life has always been intertwined with cybertronians. After Megatron's explosive return that sends her world into a spiral, she unwillingly becomes bound to a Decepticon who once tried to end her life. Together they discover truths behind a never ending anthem of deception and betrayal. Barricade/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own transformers.

**Other:** Rating is for sporadic cussing and eventually gory scenes.

Updated 9.18.2012

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**"Anthem of Deception"**

The summer sun beat through the cloudless sky, glistening off the calm sea and a shine of metal. The quiet was broken by the _pow_ of a gunshot as a powerful F-22 raptor signaled to its audience, three ominous gray objects floating none too innocently in the waters below, that it had broken the sound barrier. The U.S military Aircraft Carriers were anchored about an imaginary circle and each vessel flowed with colored dots of activity. Coordinated teams were loading a fighter jet onto a steam powered catapult piston and were waiting for the shooter to give the plane slack. An F-18 hornet pushed its engine into full throttle, straining against the hold back bar until it was released with a hiss of hydraulics, and it roared into the air.

On the wide flight deck a teenage girl sought shade under the wing of an anchored F-18 Hornet, her back comfortably propped against the machine's rear landing gear. She sat with the sides of her calves curled underneath her while her hands rested in her lap to support the bindings of a hardback book. Her face contorted into expressions of amusement and anger as her eyes skimmed the pages while its imaginary world carried her away.

A jet roaring off the runway broke her concentration and forced her mind to register the stiffness in her limbs. Annabelle Swift marked her page and unfurled her legs, stretching until her knees made a satisfactory pop. It was boring out in the middle of the ocean, and spending the last of her summer vacation on an aircraft carrier was the last thing she wanted to be doing. Her father was a fighter pilot and a single parent at the same time. She loved him to pieces even though they hardly spent any time together. She just wished he wouldn't drag her to every 'safe' assignment he could during the summer. Her sitting on a flight deck while he worked was hardly qualified as spending time together.

The sun was becoming unpleasant and her skin was beginning to bake so she tucked the book under her arm and made her way below deck. The cool confines of the ship were a welcome relief, but the cramped spaces it provided were not. Per usual, she opted for the open repair hanger that was always busy with maintenance crews repairing fighter jets. Anna tiptoed past a couple of engineers arguing over a dissected engine and crouched behind a partially gutted wing.

"You know, they say what we're guarding is a top secret weapon, but I hear it's a monster with razor sharp teeth, _piercing_ red eyes, and claws perfect for _slicing_ little boys in half." A young man with dusty blond hair and baby blue eyes swung his arms around wildly, trying to mimic his monster to a little boy who was all brown hair and freckles.

"You're lying! There's no such thing as monsters! You're a stupid liar!" The child swiped angrily at his reddened eyes.

Anna snuck around until she was behind the man and froze when the child caught her with those teary eyes. She placed a finger over her smiling lips causing the kid grinned broadly and continue to wail at the man.

The blond haired mechanic raised his arms over his head to mimic claws and lowered his voice."And then when you least expect it, the monster will jump out and-"

Anna pounced on the adult's back and screamed, "Boo!"

She wrapped her arms around his neck and curled her legs up behind her, forcing him to tilt dangerously backwards with her weight.

_"Hook, line, and sinker,"_ she chuckled inwardly.

"Holy shit!" He shouted while trying to yank her off. Luckily, the man was just an engineer and not a trained army vet who could flip her over his shoulder and break an arm. The little boy, Cooper, began laughing hysterically and she heard a few soft mummers of 'damn kids' from others nearby.

"Watch your language, blonde," Anna scolded with a smile.

"Damn it, Anna! What are you doing down here, _again_?"

She slid off and huffed, "I got bored of reading and my skin was starting to cook so sue me."

Tyler turned to face her and crossed his arms. "Why don't you act like a girl your age and go hole up somewhere with your computer, like in, your room maybe?"

Mirrored his defensive pose and snorted, "You're not much older than me, and you're down here 'geeking' out over a few airplane parts."

"It's my _job,_ smart ass."

"Language!" she barked and slapped his arm.

Tyler was a fresh graduate as an aerospace engineer and was probably the closer to her in age than anyone else on the ship. She had bumped into him during the first week and they had become fast friends. He was incredibly smart and often gave her pointers on how to repair parts he was working on. She appreciated his enthusiasm, but his instructions always went over her head.

"Anna, I'm hungry," a childish whine interrupted.

She looked down at her watch and frowned, "It's not even twelve yet."

Tyler clasped a hand on her shoulder that felt pleasantly warm through her clothing as he grinned at Cooper.

"A growing boy's got 'ta eat, isn't that right?" He gave Cooper a not so discrete wink and received an excited grin in return.

Anna put her hands on her hips. "Fine, Y'all win this time, but don't blame me if you start getting round in the middle." She poked Tyler in the stomach and squawked when he tousled her hair.

"There's the good ol' Texan accent," he said with a cheeky smirked.

She shoved him away, already missing the warm hand, and tried to save her already frizzed curls. "F off."

"Language," Tyler warned in a mockingly sweet tone.

"I didn't even curse, all I said was a letter."

All things considered, airship carrier food really wasn't that bad. The cook was a cheerful fellow who didn't just slap mystery meat together from the previous week and call it lunch. In fact, today he made good ol' fashion hamburgers that were thoroughly satisfying to Anna's stomach.

The two boys scarfed down their meal almost faster than she could blink. Tyler had stock piled three hamburgers that he was quickly devouring, and Cooper was trying to compete with him. The kid had picked up four and was currently having trouble on his third.

"Come on, a real man can eat four hamburgers, easily," Tyler goaded and winked at Anna who was glaring back.

Cooper frowned and stuffed the last of his food into his cheeks, swelling them in a way that reminded her of a chipmunk, and he scrunched his nose in a pained expression.

She couldn't stop her snort of amusement that ungracefully came out. "Don't make him eat anymore if he's full. That kind of teasing and encouragement is what gets a kid overweight in the first place."

Tyler rolled his eyes and gave an exasperated sigh. "Oh please, don't tell me you're turning into a health nut on me."

"Oh _please_," she mocked. "Do you know how hard it is for a woman to keep her figure?"

Tyler sat back in his chair and folded his hands behind his head, looking quite pleased over something. "You're only seventeen."

"I'll be an adult in a couple months," she snapped, unsure why she was suddenly on the defensive.

"I wanna' play cards." Cooper, who had finally managed to swallow his mass of hamburger, tugged at Anna's hand with a pitiful puppy-dog face. Her own dog could pull off the cuter begging face, but Cooper came close enough.

"Alright, but I have to get them from my room."

"But that's far," he whined, already looking to be on the brink of tears, again.

Internally, she cringed. Anna wasn't overly fond of little kids, nor did she really know how to interact with them. She couldn't understand why the Air boss' kid had decided to stick to her and Tyler like a second shadow.

Anna climbed out of the cafeteria seat and picked up her empty tray.

"Why don't you go back with Tyler to his work station? I'll meet y'all there in a bit with my deck."

"Ok!" Cooper shouted unnecessarily loud.

Tyler gave her his own version of a hurt puppy that translated along the lines of, 'I can't believe you're leaving me alone with this monster'. She smiled at him apologetically and left the mess hall.

"Cards, cards. Where are those darn things?" Anna muttered to herself as she crouched in her tiny room. It was a cabin for one that might as well have been a cubby hole. The twin size bed donned in boring gray took up the entire room, and a small slab of metal jutted out from the side to serve as a desk. She had tossed out the tiny stool for it a long time ago and opted to use the bed as a chair, lounge, and sleeping area all in one. She hated cramped spaces. Anna crouched on her knees and shuffled across the bed that emitted loud squeaks of protest until she could bend over the desk. She pried open the sliver of a drawer, shuffled through a crumpled mess of hastily written story fragments, and shoved loose pens to the back.

"There you are. Stupid reject cards," she muttered under her breath.

Some people were convinced that talking to oneself was unhealthy, but Anna did it anyway. She didn't have many close friends, not the kind could be called up just to chat or invite over, and living alone with nothing but a dog and a strange uncle made a person rethink a few things that were formally considered crazy.

She managed to wiggle the cards free of the drawer just when the ship shook violently. She fell forwards with a startled yelp and banged her forehead on the edge of the desk. Anna recoiled, falling back first on the bed and let loose a colorful string of curses. The massive boat rocked a few times and a loud, metallic grinding sound echoed down the walls, sending a chill through her spine. She rubbed her pounding head vigorously and stuck her face into a pillow to help press the searing pain away. There was no way a tsunami had hit and there wasn't the distinct sound of exploding missiles that came with an attack, not that she had heard many missiles in her life. Her irritation was nearly overwhelming when the ear splitting klaxon practically split her head in two. She folded the pillow up around her ears and stuffed the cotton into them, and was rewarded little for her efforts. Giving a minute to collect herself, she lifted her head out of the pillow that was now dotted with crimson spots and stumbled out of the increasingly claustrophobic room.

"Anna!"

She whipped around, feeling the adrenalin starting to kick in, and saw her father weaving through hall where personnel were pouring through. His heavily scarred face was twisted into a frown of seriousness that had her stomach tying into a knot. Maybe it had been an attack.

"What hit us?!" She hollered over the beeping alarm when he was close enough.

His eyes lingered on her forehead before yelling back, "Listen to me carefully. Take this."

He shoved an object into her hand that looked like a shard of metal then grabbed her shoulder and leaned into her ear. He lowered his voice significantly, but still managed to sound fierce in his order.

"Take that and don't let anyone see it. Get somewhere safe that's near the life rafts, and if you have to, jump ship. Don't wait if it looks bad. And remember, always trust your instincts."

He always said that, 'trust your instincts', but never so seriously.

She nodded numbly, rooted to the spot as people pushed around them. "Is it an air raid?"

"Not exactly." His tone was raspy and possibly pained, but before she could push again, he gave his daughter a rough pat on the shoulder before finally pulling away.

"Go, and be strong." Then he disappeared into the crowd before her limbs could catch up to her mind.

Her dad was never one to give detailed explanations, but for the last two years everything he seemed to say felt like a half lie. Anna shook her head and raced through the overflowing halls to find her way to the upper deck and into the pink-orange rays of the sinking sun. The odd thing that struck her was there wasn't an enemy plane or ship in sight. Sure, missiles could be shot from hundreds of miles away, but wouldn't the patrolling jets have spotted a potential threat and mobilized far earlier?

She weaved around panicking employees who seemed to share her thoughts and reached the edge of the ship where bright orange life rafts were already being loaded. She walked to the edge of the railing and couldn't help but gawk at the side of the haul. It looked like as if a meteor had grazed the side of the ship, taking a massive chunk with it. The hole was quickly filling with water and steamed that billowed from the still glowing hot metal. The boat was beginning to tilt sideways with the new weight, creaking and groaning against the strain of water filling its belly. Anna felt her heart jump into her throat and she sucked in a breath. This was serious, dead serious. They were really under attack.

_"So much for a pleasant vacation,"_ she bit sarcastically.

The sound of metal screeching on metal was the only warning before time slowed to a surreal crawl. Hornets and S-3 Vikings broke loose of their tethers and began sliding into each other, ripping apart wings and tearing gashes in their armor as they fell down the forming grade. The heavy flying machines were hurdling straight for her and there was nowhere to go.

Her heart rate increased and adrenaline began pumping through her veins with an urgency that propelled her into a sprint to desperately get out the way. The other personnel on deck scrambled at the same time, creating a jam of people pushing and shouting at each other angrily. Some were distracted long enough to be hit by the aircrafts and were swept over the side of the boat with them. In her own panic, Anna lost her footing several times when bumping into others and felt the increasingly deck increasing in its deadly tilt. She swore her heart was going to jump through her throat when she had to duck to avoid the wing of a plane sliding past. She shot her sights around the deck, looking for _anything_ that would get her out of the line of fire, and locked onto the central tower only feet away.

She jumped to the massive structure and latched on, hugging railing for support. The thick pillar shielded her from falling machinery gave her a brief moment to survey the chaos. Anna was mortified when a body fell before her, more joining with terrified screams as people fell from the upper decks of the control center and into the water now lapping up the deck. She dug her heels into the ground to keep from sliding and glanced hundreds of yards away to the other carriers suffering the same fate.

The incline became steeper and she futilely kicked her feet on the ground to propel herself closer to the lifeline she was losing grip on. The ship was closing in on a dangerous ninety degree angle that had every curse word in the English dictionary racing through her mind. The forgotten life boats had already been smashed into unusable splinters by the planes, making that plan of escape fly out the window. A strangled sound escaped her throat in unspoken fear.

It was now or never. With a deep breath she let go of the railing and slid, picking up speed until she hit the water with a splash. She struggled to the surface, sputtering for air as the saltwater blinded her stinging eyes and threatened to fill her lungs. Her pupils dilated at a squealing Hornet diving her away, she tried to swim away but not even her time on swim team could help her here. Her water soaked shoes and clothing made it terrifyingly hard to move her legs or pump her arms fast enough to swim at any significant speed, and the second she came up for a breath of air, the wing of the aircraft came crashing down on her head.

Anna closed her eyes tightly and bit her tongue as she was forced to submerge. Blindly, she felt around the wing, but the sense of which way was up or down fled her internal compass. All of her senses fled her in that moment as panic sunk in. Air left her lungs in large bubbles that floated past her lips in silent spasms of terror. Miraculously, she found the edge of the wing and used the edge of it to propel herself upwards with a vigorous kick. Her lungs were screaming for air and the terrifying thought of passing out and dying in the abyss only fueled her adrenaline. With heavy tennis shoes and soggy clothes, she managed to break the surface. Her lungs retched, throwing up water only to have more of it wash up into her mouth, but she could finally breathe.

"Hey!"

She splashed around to see an orange life raft floating a few meters away and standing over it was a dark skinned man who had his hands cupped around his mouth to form a makeshift megaphone.

"Over here," she hollered hoarsely back, and waived an arm in air. A flutter of relief rose in her stomach at the welcome sight of the stranger.

The small boat steered over until it was bobbing at her side. She gratefully took an offered hand and was heaved into the boat where several hands flew to help pull her into the skiff. Anna rolled into the boat like a wet rag and fell to the bottom with a wet smack.

"Are you alright?" A faceless but concerned voice asked her. Coughing, she sat up and nodded to one of her rescuers, too breathless to answer.

Her eyes grew wide with surprise and the passengers of the boat nearly fell over as the life raft started to violently thrash in the waves. An object burst from the water, sending sea water spraying hundreds of feet into the air, and Anna watched in morbid fascination as the metal creature rose from the ocean depths.

Time slowed and all other noise seemed to fade into nothing as she stared up. From the air the creature looked at her, through her. It was a giant silver robot being supported in the air by another robot. They both had red, gleaming eyes and dangerously sharp teeth. The silver machine raised its clawed that morphed into a gun, and angled the intimidating barrel. The cannon fired a red light that emitted a high pitch sound as it sailed over her head. It crashed into an aircraft carrier and blew up the heavily armored boat in a flash of flames that turned into an all-out explosion as the ship's nuclear generators lit and rocketed metal into the sky.

She screamed and a hand forced her down into the boat. A yowl of pain and a sickeningly wet crunch led to the most gruesome thing she had ever seen. A young worker had a piece of shrapnel speared through his skull and his face was frozen in a perpetual state of shock. Anna stared, entranced by the horrific scene, unable to look away as he fell slumped over in the boat.

Her throat hitched and she felt like she could throw up. Someone's arms wrapped around her comfortingly as more giant robots crashed out of the water. Some smashed through the already drowning ships as they each took off faster than she could get a good look. They disappeared into the sky, not caring to observe the destruction they had caused.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own transformers

**Updated:** 8/19/11

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The sun had long since given way to a moonless night and scattered stars, a sickly orange hue from floating debris still a flamed was the only illumination on the black sea. Their light flickered off three lifeboats floating miles apart from each other and their strained inhabitants within.

Anna sat upon her shins with her arms folded at the boats edge and was comfortably resting her chin on them as she stared absently into the night. Her fingers thrummed over the smooth metal as the dark water rolled softly, sending the boat sloshing in a sickening up and down pattern. She was vaguely aware when movement rocked the life vessel and felt her stomach squirm as someone hurled their lunch into the water. _Don't throw up. Don't throw up._

"You alright man?" A faceless Marine asked.

"Yeah, I just get sick easy," She heard the second person spitting the last remnants from his mouth and prayed she wouldn't be the next one to lose her last meal.

"Then why did you join the Navy? You knew it would be nothing but boats and water."

Anna heard a loud sigh, "I don't hate the sea. Sides' carriers don't rock like dinghies."

She quit listening and dived back into her own thoughts. That thing…what was that thing? That _robot_? Was the U.S. about to go to war? Was it from the same people they were warring with now? She had never seen something so elaborate, so menacing, so right out of a sci-fi horror movie, like the Terminator being sent into the past but bigger. She vaguely thought of one of her favorite childhood movies, the Iron Giant. But that robot was anything but gentle; it was all psychotic killing machine. A shiver went up her spine every time she recalled her seconds glance of the thing. Its coal burning eyes, bulky silver frame, spindly claws that transformed into death dealing weapons…It tore apart a US Carrier like was make of tissue paper for hells sake!

Even worse, she had no idea what happened to her dad, it was impossible to know if he'd made it out safely. Even if she didn't get to see him very much he was family and the thought of losing him was enough to prick her eyes. She silently hoped he was ok and tried not to dwell on it. Breaking down in front of these soldiers was the last thing she wanted to do. There were only three lifeboats left from the Carriers, once proud ships that had the capacity to hold nearly five hundred people, all gone to the greedy depths of the ocean. Being the true soldiers they were the personnel stayed on as long as they could as the military ships were either allowed to sink or blasted into oblivion, taking every one with it in a single blast. Only visiting family members and a few lucky soldiers who were already overboard and had been pulled to safety had made it.

The other two life rafts that had survived were so far away there was no way to tell who was on them and none of them had dared to navigate the burning debris to get closer. Passingly, she wondered if her dad was on one of them but beat herself into not getting her hopes up. A few shouts were passed between them assure the others they were still alive but for now everyone was for the most part silent.

Except for an old man with wide, crazed eye who kept muttering to himself, "They're coming. The monsters are back, we're doomed, doomed..."

An exasperated soldier had tried to shut him up hours ago but there was no stopping his constant muttering. No one had the heart to take any kind of action against him, besides scooting away from his corner as far as possible, and eventually it was easy enough to drown him out, no matter how chilling or ominous the words.

Their lifeboat was made to accommodate around twenty five people, sardined that was, including the bars for hanging onto by the side, but at the time it only held six…minus one. Anna shivered, remembering the horror stricken man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. A stray metal pole, bent from the explosion speared through the back of his head, killing the man instantly. Blood rapidly oozed from his wound as he laid at the bottom of the boat before he was tossed overboard for all of their sanities. The dried patch of congealed blood was another corner most tried to avoid.

Anna felt a hand gently place itself between her shoulder blades and involuntarily flinched. A soft 'shhh' quelled her fears and she allowed the hand to rhythmically rub her back. Usually she wouldn't want to be messed with when thinking but at the moment she didn't want to think.

"It's going to be ok sweetie," a woman's voice said soothingly. "Why don't you try and get some sleep? We'll be out of here soon."

She was a young woman dressed in civilian clothes and very obviously pregnant with a medium size bump in her middle. Perhaps it was only her maternal instincts kicking that compelled the woman to stick to Anna like glue or maybe it was because she hadn't said a word unless spoken to. Maybe they all thought she was more fragile just for being the youngest aboard. Well frag them. With an internal sigh Anna resigned that she might as well try and get some sleep, if it was at all possible. A rescue crew had already been called via the emergency satellite radio and their rescuers were assured to arrive by morning. All she could do was wait, and sleep seemed to be the best way to make that time come sooner.

For a long moment Anna thought she'd fallen asleep in the bathtub again. Oh, her neighbor had had a field day that time and busted down her bathroom door. Needless to say, her dad was pissed and made the man fix it. But as her mind came more into focus she found the wet feeling was her damp clothes drying with a salty film. She would have been shivering from the sea's wind if it weren't for the hot sun warming her already crispy feeling back. With a hard stretched she tried to pull the stiffness out of her limbs and accidently bumped someone with her foot. She quickly withdrew and muttered a soft apology, voice horse with sleep. The man she'd lightly kicked merely shrugged and continued to sweep over the open waters. Her brain clicked fully into gear and she sat up scanning the horizon hopefully herself. A few more inhabitants woke in much the same fashion she did, shooting halfhearted apologies and joining in looking for their rescue.

Possibly hours later a holler rose from a distant life raft, "Look over there! They brought the choppers!"

Anna turned her head wildly around as her boat came to life with scrambling bodies and finally spotted them in the distance. Her heart thumped for the three rescue helicopters and four Blackhawks humming over the horizon and couldn't help but smile grimly and shiver. This nightmare would be over soon. The powerful machines rumbled overhead, there was nothing quite like a lifeflight helicopter flying so close, it shook everything around it and drowned out all other sound. She remembered one time when one flew so close to her apartment that the entire building shook a picture fell from the wall. The Blackhawks scattered around the perimeter, surveying the damage while a rescue helicopter began lowering over their boat, making her eardrums throb and shaking her ribcage.

The rotating blades kicked up a torrent of hot air that whipped Anna's hair into her eyes, spreading the water away from the boat in a ring of white froth. A basket lowered from the vehicle until it was close enough to catch and a soldier reached out to pull it towards them. The old man who had finally stopped mumbling was helped into it first and the rescue team slowly brought the basket up. They repeated this process for the other three people in the boat until it was finally Anna's turn. She had volunteered to go last, not liking the idea of dangling hundreds of feet in the air by a basket, and wobbly tried to catch it. It was hard to try and stand on the rocking boat, especially when she was trying to catch a swinging metal basket that she would shy away from when it swung at her head.

"Yes-shhhit," she groaned after missing it for a seventh time, the thing was taunting her, she swore. Her limbs were starting shake and she could feel tears of frustration pricking her eyes and regretted not allowing a soldier to help her in. chickening out had finally come back to bite her in the butt. In frustration she looked into the boat for a pole or anything else she could use to catch the source of her anxiety. The helicopter or the heads poking out the side weren't helping either.

A Blackhawk stooped forwards to head her way caught Anna's attention and she gapped shock as a soldier jumped from it, plummeted into the waves and emerging from a ring of disturbed water just as the copter flew away. He swam over to her boat, loaded down with gear that made it hard to help pull him in. He looked to be in his middle or late twenties with messy brown hair dripping wet from the sea. A wave of embarrassment warmed her cheeks; she should have gotten into the basket sooner. He flashed smile despite being dripping wet on her behalf and put a comforting, or was it steadying, hand on her back.

"Hang on!" He managed to shout of the roaring propellers.

She nodded silently and watched him struggle to grab the swaying basket until he finally caught it and pulled it towards them. "Get in, I'll hold it!"

Shakily, Anna grabbed the bars and hoisted herself in with the soldier's assistance and he hopped in after her, holding her suddenly shaking limbs close and grabbed hold of the ropes, nodding to the rescue team above. Anna closed her eyes as she felt the basket sway with their climb and willed herself not to look down. Only when she felt the basket give a jerk and tilt did she look up. The emergency team pulled the basket into the helicopter and dragged it all the way in; someone shut the door and drowned out much of the noise, a welcome relief.

The soldier released her and the rescue crew helped Anna to a seat, also handing her a headset which she placed over her ears.

"O honey. Come here." The pregnant woman's voice crackled into Anna's ears. She shook her head at the coaxing mother to be with apologetic smile. She didn't want to be coddled, especially not now, space and time was all she needed to calm her frantic heart. A medic was almost instantly in her face trying to examine for injuries. Usually Anna was good about sitting still for doctors but she couldn't help squirming.

"I'm fine!" she barked over the headset and tried to pull away.

The female medic scowled and gently grabbed a hold of her shaking arm. "Just let me get a look at you to make sure you're not injured." she proceeded to do her job and again and the contact made Anna finally snap.

"I would know if I had a sharp object going through my head!"

She jolted back in surprise and the survivors in the boat stiffened. The silence was filled by the old man starting to mutter again. "They're going to kill us all. We're all going to burn."

"STOP THAT! SOMEONE SHUT HIM UP! I can't take it anymore!" a young maintenance worker from the life boat yowled, covering his ears.

"Hey! Enough!" The dripping wet soldier commanded harshly, the man stopped his obsessive yammering and fell completely silent; a huge relief to Anna's hammering heart.

The soldier moved from his seat to crouch down in front of her. He placed a hand on her knee and looked her in the eye. "Don't listen to anything he says. Ok? You're safe now, I promise."

Anna nodded slowly and received a glowing grin in return, "So what might be the name of the pretty little lady I'm talking to? My name's Will."

"Anna," she said softly. It felt strange to be talked to like a child.

"That's a pretty name, just as pretty as my baby girl's. Say what's your favorite movie?"

"Um, John Tucker Must Die." Nowhere near her favorite but oddly enough it was the first thing to come to mind.

"Ah, my wife made me watch that one. I don't get those chick flicks you women always watch," he chuckled.

"Of course a guy wouldn't understand them," The mother-to-be interjected.

Will smiled sheepishly, "Nope. Not at all."

As much as she wanted to think by herself, Anna was grateful for the distraction that kept the lot of them occupied until they came upon Diego Garcia hours later. The helicopter flew over a compound so huge it was like a miniature city. Most buildings were as tall as four stories and took each took up a large square footage.

The choppers along with their Blackhawk escorts landed smoothly on helipads and Anna was more than ready to leave the confines of the Rescue Helicopter. The door was slid open and she boggled at the amount of activity she was pushed into. Military personnel were rushing around the runway and vehicles that looked to be a new model of military Hummers were scrambling around the area. They had an oddly abbreviated N.E.S.T plastered to their sides which she vaguely wondered the meaning to. Anna could recall seeing it one other time, on one of her father's uniforms, but he never would tell her what it meant. Her eyes fell down cast as reality hit her. Her dad was dead just like that man from the boat.

Military personnel filed into a strategic line at the entrance of the chopper and helped the rescued people, including herself all wrapped in wool blankets, out and escorted the group to a waiting car.

"Hey! Get back here!" Someone shouted loud enough to turn heads.

"Anna!"

She whipped her head at being called and watched as men and women almost comically blundered after an eight year old boy barreling through her own wall of escorts to cling to her leg.

"Anna," he sobbed again, and she put an absent hand on his messy hair and inwardly cringed. This was the last thing she needed.

No one bothered to pry him away and Anna was a bit miffed they were leaving him in her care. She was pushed forwards with the rest of the group, Cooper stubbornly hanging on, and loaded into a N.E.S.T vehicle.

"Hold on a minute-" Anna heard Will's angry voice cut off just as the door slammed shut. The ride was short, dodging people and zipping around massive carrier planes until they came to a building that they were silently escorted through, and into a small room with nothing but a table lined with chairs. One man, lanky and severe looking with broad glasses and a vanilla folder at his side, sat with his hands folded at the table's head. Other survivors filed into the room from the other two choppers and dishearteningly, Anna recognized none of them.

The door was closed and barred by two armed men with a loud clang that made several people turn and glace between each other uncomfortably. An official remaining in the room motioned for the group to take a seat and broke their attention from the door. Not everyone could fit at the table but Lucky Anna got one at the far end and Cooper took the one next to her, clinging fiercely to her arm in a frightened stupor.

Once they were all settled, despite an uncomfortable shuffling among them, the man at the table head cleared his throat and leaned forwards. "I am Mr. Galloway, the new liaison," he paused as if his position held a significance they should have known. "And I would like to ask you all a few questions. It could very well mean our National Security. I need you to tell me EXACTLY what you saw and EXACTLY what has transpired from the time of the attack leading up to your rescue."

There wasn't even time for a pause when the Old Man started blearily, "A monster. Those _things_ are back." His eyes weren't quite as crazed as they were dour.

Galloway's eyes darted over to his sunken face and narrowed them, "What _things_?"

"They're back and they're going to kills us." His voice was already beginning to take on that hysteric tone.

"What is going to kill us," Galloway asked coolly.

The Old Man's eyes were growing bigger, seeing into a place they could not. "Those blood red eyes. Those weapons of death…"

The liaison pounded a fist against the desk. "Sir if you do not tell me what _it_ is I have the right to detain you!"

"They're going to kill us."

"What did you see!"

"Were all going to die!"

Cooper began wailing and Galloway stood so quickly his chair screeched painfully against the floor.

"Take him out of here! We're not getting anything out of this lunatic!"

An armed guard walked over to the Old Man and encouraged him to stand up with a tap of his gun. "Come on man," he coaxed. "You're causing a scene."

"We're all going to die!" he wailed again.

Galloway stood up sharply and Cooper cried harder choking Anna's arm of oxygen. "Out!"

The guard abandoned his gun over his shoulder and hauled the man up by his arms and began dragging him.

"We're all going to die! Just you wait! They'll come and get whatever they were after the first time!"

"Make him stop," Cooper hiccupped.

I didn't know what to do but pat him awkwardly on the head. Truthfully, his words stirred a child-like fear of my own. The door's locks pulled away by themselves before the guard could even touch them and Will stormed into the room with several flanking N.E.S.T soldiers. He looked irate as he glared at the one body guard who had his gun raised to his squad with a stupefied look.

"You might want to put that away," A bulky dark skinned soldier hissed with a gun of his own already brandished.

The guard threw a cautious glance at Galloway who was glaring at Will before putting his weapon away. The immediate threat gone, the other lowered his weapon as well but kept it in his hands and in plain view.

"What is the meaning of this Captain Lennox," Galloway asked none too pleased at have his interrogation interrupted.

Will struck his arm out to the side and jabbed at the ground with his gloved finger. "These people were supposed to be taken straight to the infirmary, not locked into your little closet so you could play mind games with them!"

"You can't tell me what to do. You have no authority over me." Galloway sneered.

"No, he doesn't. But I do." An aging man with receding hair and a black suit was allowed into the room by Will's respectfully parting squad.

"M-mister Secretary Keller! I was just trying to get as much information out of these people as fast as possible so we can take the right course of action…"

The secretary of defense cut off his rambling excuse sharply, "You disobeyed a direct order. Now if you don't release these people then I may just be inclined to forget about your promotion and have your behind shipped back to the pentagon to continue your-"

The spindly man reacted immediately. So much for his bravado earlier, Anna thought wearily. "No no. I was not aware of that order. By all means take them. But just remember we need to get information out of them as soon as possible it's a matter of…"

"National security. Yes I am aware but the health of our people is more important at the moment." Keller gave him a stern look and shooed Will's unit in. "See to it that they _get_ to the infirmary and are not stopped or questioned."

"Will do sir," Will saluted sharply said and directed a smug smile at Galloway's heated frown.

Anna and the rest of the survivors were escorted to the medical wing by Lennox and his soldiers as they were apparently originally supposed to do. One of them, the muscular dark skinned man, introduced himself as Epps since he had to explain himself to Conner why he'd just slapped his higher up over the back in a friendly gesture. Anna thought the boy's father had been far too uptight if Cooper thought no friendly banter could be shown in the military. But then again hers was a bit of a tight, excusing herself for the word, ass when it came to his work. As promised they reached the medical wing without being shipped off to another shady interrogation room and Anna was none too thrilled to be checked over by another medic, but she could say the opposite about having Cooper finally pried off of her. She just wanted a change of clothes, a bite to eat, and a nice soft bed.

"All right, sleep is probably a good idea," the medic agreed. "You are allowed to bunk here for a few hours until a room is assigned to you."

She escorted Anna to an empty bed and like a mind reader presented a crisp medical robe. Anna wasn't too thrilled with the idea of being in the garment that hardly covered her back side but it was better than sitting in her salt crusted clothes that refused to dry.

"You can change behind that curtain if you would like." the medic pointed towards sheets surrounding one of the few 'private beds'.

"Thank you," Anna smiled and meant it.

Not a minute later Anna was changed, feeling uncomfortably airy and stark naked under the medical garment. She threw her clothes on the floor next to her bed and dropped down with a heavy 'hmph' at hearing the mattress squeak. She didn't have any time to even think before she was fast asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own transformers

Edited 4/19/12

* * *

Sleep in the infirmary had been no kinder to Anna than the one on the raft. Her head pounded furiously and she could feel a simmering heat rising off her undoubtedly reddened skin. Hell knew she would have loved to just fall back asleep but the glaring sunlight filtering through the blinds and a rustling sound nearby had other ideas. With a squeeze of her lids steady her pulsing temples Anna sat up slowly then glanced at a man sitting up in bed a few rows down. She could not recall his name but knew the guy was one of the survivors from the wreck. He was digging into what could only have been described as military provision from a tray in his lap. Anna had sucked down a couple of those prepackaged meals in her life and even knowing how tasteless the slop was she could feel saliva pooling her mouth. It must have been over twenty four hours since she last ate.

Thankfully someone had thought enough about her to leave a ration on the nightstand. Anna scarfed the cold meal down while squinting away from the either setting or rising sun. Her sense of time had been seriously messed up ever since the carrier went down. It was amazing how much the human mind relied on clocks to keep oriented and uphold a sense of reality.

She placed the tray back on the rolling stand and heaved a satisfied sigh. It had been nasty alright. All dried out, tasteless and in dire need of some Tabasco but her stomach was happily gurgling away at it. Anna was more awake with food in her stomach but she found her hands empty, leaving her mind to wander. She shuddered as it began to sink in just how lucky she had been. All of them were extremely lucky to survive when so many others didn't. She felt like she should be bowing down and kissing Lady Lucks feet but a louder part of her brain wanted to spit on her. Yeah, she was lucky to be alive but after living through what was practically a terrorist attack all those deaths felt like anything but lucky. Anna did not want to think about it…did not want to think about her dad who was probably dead. There was almost no chance he survived but Anna stubbornly shoved the inevitable to the back of her mind.

A quiet sob tore her attention to across the room along with several others who looked up curiously. What she saw made her heart sink. The pregnant woman from the life boat had her hand covering her mouth in an attempt to stifle her tears. The woman had been so calm and confident on the raft while Anna had shamelessly shut down. Anna had been envious of her courage during the tough situation but it seemed she was just as rattled as the rest of them. Now that she thought about it the woman probably had a loved one she lost amongst the chaos. No one came out of that mess without scars. Anna felt she was intruding on a private moment and respectfully looked away.

It was then she spotted a familiar face a few beds down that she had to do a double take on to make sure he was not an illusion. Kyle was passed out on his back with clean bandages wrapped around his forehead and a clear IV pumping into his arm. A ball of shame coiled around in her stomach as she watched his steady breathing. Anna had forgotten all about him. Not once had she wondered of his whereabouts or whether he was dead or alive. Anna wanted to think her slip of the mind came naturally from only ever having herself and Kaden to look after but it was just a horrible excuse.

Feeling suddenly very uncomfortable with her surroundings she slid off the side of the bed and nearly slipped on a pile of clothes. A waterlogged book and a deck of soggy playing cards were placed in a neatly folded pile of military style clothes. She picked up clothing and discarded her ruined things on the bed. It was surprising anyone would have tried to salvage her things but knowing someone found them valuable enough to keep was admittedly not a bad feeling. Anna took the clothes behind curtains surrounding a neighboring bed and slipped into the stiff garments.

Whoever had picked the outfit had a good sense of size. The camouflage pixilated t-shirt was a snug size small and though the pants were a little long all she had to do was roll the bottoms up a bit over generously given combat boots. Even salt free undergarments were thrown in for a bonus. The bra was way too big but she could manage with some ingenuity. Anna made a quick mental note to figure out who the mind reader was and thank them. All she needed now was a shower and hopefully some answers to what really happened out in the ocean.

She looked guiltily past a sedated man with an amputated arm to Kyle just to make sure he was really alive and sleeping only a few rows away. It was strange how quiet and calm everything was even with the amount of people in the small. Either everyone was just too tired to talk about it or they were all too drugged up on painkillers and who knew what else to help them recover. Anna took a deep breath then picked up her water damaged, burnt smelling possessions and threw them in the trash. She was turned to leave but a soft unnatural clunk followed the items into the trash bin. It was a rattling sound like a marble in a bowl.

She took her things back out and for the first time became aware of the books newly acquired mass. Flopping the front and back covers between her two hands she fanned the pages out over the bed and was rewarded with a small silver object and blackened bits of paper. She glanced inside the book and found its pages to be burned through several chapters in a shape that shadowed the object now on her bed.

After placing the book near her pillow Anna carefully picked the sliver of metal up between her thumb and forefinger and examined the metal object that was no bigger than her pinky. It had a weird symbol on it that was half destroyed from where fragment had obviously been a part of something. This was the thing her dad was so worried about making it off the ship with her. Why this little piece of trash was so important she had no clue but decided to pocket the thing anyway. It must have been important at some point. Maybe it was a piece of a ship or some other military object that had sentimental value. After collecting the shreds of paper and returning her things to the trash Anna did her best not to look around the room and left the place as fast as she could.

Once free of the medical facilities Anna backtracked to the front doors and cringed the moment the sun's rays hit her crispy skin. She had white skin that never tanned and was cursed to turn lobster red then peel with no pigment change. Several times she had entertained the idea of getting a spray on tan but every time the subject came up she had chickened out. Her biggest fear of those things was the possibility of turning orange.

The tarmac was overflowing with NEST personnel constantly on the move and heavy equipment was being waved off massive carrier jets. It was not so surprising considering all that had recently happened. Even news of the attack was not all over the national news by now then at least the US department of defense would planning something; or at least she hoped. Anna strode out into the busy area despite not knowing where she was going and felt awkwardly out of place. She didn't know a soul at this base besides the people back at the medical building who were too drugged up to hold a conversation.

Anna dodged a crate carrying dolly and watched in strange fascination as a blue semi with red flames drove by. It was a complete oddity in a military setting.

"Lackey!"

Anna jumped with a start and felt her heart leap into her throat. She swiveled around and came face to face with a decorated higher up looking down at her irately. Possibly to grill her for wandering about the base as a civilian.

"Why is your hair past your shoulders? Where's your belt? Why is your shirt not tucked in?"

"I-I," Anna felt her brain switch off in panic.

"Why are you not addressing your superior properly?" His voice was a sharp yell that punctuated nearly every word like an angry drill sergeant, which was not too far of a stretch to think about. He stared down Anna's stunned posture awaiting an answer.

"I'm not a soldier…sir."Anna cringed and internally cursed. This was just like ROTC all over again.

"O yeah? Then what's with that getup? You can't be a spy, you're too scrawny and pathetic looking. Can't even tuck your goddamn uniform in."

Anna felt sudden anger pop through her usually timid bubble. How dare he call her pathetic? She squared her shoulders and looked him strait in the eye.

"I didn't ask my dad to drag me on a ship that would get blown up. I'm not a soldier!"

She nearly dissolved at her rash comment and angry tears were threatening to spill from her eyes. All of the images came rushing back into her mind of the bodies floating in the sea surrounded burning debris and that Iron Giant monster.

His eyes narrowed and met her watery eyes with an unblinking stare, "What is your name little girl?"

"I'm not a kid," She spat out, using the anger to reign herself back in.

The soldier growled like a gnarled grizzly bear and pounded right up into her face so his crooked nose was inches from her own. She momentarily flinched but held her ground. She knew what she had just said was the upmost of stupid but it helped to push the images out of her head.

"You may not _think _you are a soldier but when you are on my grounds and wearing one of _my_ men's uniforms you _are _one of my soldiers! Now pique down and wipe that attitude off your face and tell me your first and last name!"

Anna could almost hear all the gears in her brain grinding to a halt and momentarily thought she was going to find a gun to her head in two seconds flat.

"Anna Swift," she squeaked.

He backed away from her face but never once tore his gaze from her bulging eyes.

"Mitchell Swift then?"

She nodded silently to confirm her dad's name.

"Now I know where that horrible attitude of yours comes from."

"Hey-" Anna tried to snap in her late dad's defense but failed to say anymore. She could feel her tedious control slipping. If this continued she might actually wind up hitting someone.

"That man can cause quite a mess. It's no wonder his kid is just as unruly. I want you to fix up right now or you're going to find yourself on detail duty! Do you understand me!"

Anna jumped and quickly tucked in her shirt in and using a black hair tie thrown at her she did her hair up in a pony tail several times until it was a loose mess above her nape.

"Now I don't want you walking around looking like a garbage can again you got that!"

"Yes sir!" she said automatically.

"Good. Then go make some use of yourself and report to Captain Lennox."

He jabbed his finger down the runway and Anna's eyes snapped to the vaguely familiar figure of Will quite a ways down. The higher up gave her one last stern scowl then left her to stare after him dumbstruck. Her momentary lapse into silence ended in a white hot flash of anger. If she ever saw that man again she would slap him so hard…her thoughts tailed into a garbled mess. She knew inflicting any kind of bodily harm would be disrespectful, totally inappropriate, and land her ass in federal prison faster than she could spit in someone's eye but she couldn't help seething in anger.

Reluctantly taking his advice Anna stomped over to Will while taking her hair out of the messy up do and making a real pony tail in the process. She stopped when she was close enough to hear the brown-haired, blue-eyed soldier yelling as he made wide hand gestures at whoever was in an absolutely massive GMC Topkick. Even Anna had to admit it was a _damn_ nice looking truck. It had to be personally owned since no government agency in their right mind would buy something so luxurious. It was much nicer than her little hand-me-down F-150 and undoubtedly cost more than any scrawny little sports car.

"Why do we have to keep reminding you to not shoot at the rookies? We're not made out of titanium like y'all are and you could end up killing someone…"

While she was having some serious truck envy Will stopped mid lecture and looked strait at her with a momentarily stunned look before giving a sheepish grin. Anna wondered how he knew she was standing there from so far away and among the chaos of moving personnel. Will gave a strong pat to the hood of the car and moved his lips to words she couldn't hear. The black GMC honked its horn startling both of them and in almost a grumpy fashion it backed up and drove past Lennox. Will glared after it for a moment then walked up to Anna.

"Sorry about that. My…friend has a bit of a temper," Will said with a clearing of his throat.

Anna quickly summarized the driver was a grouchy old hire up everyone knew…that liked to shoot at insubordinate lackeys. Was that even legal? Will must noticed something amiss in her stance and the weary look in her eyes because he kept his distance and grinned broader.

"Are you doing alright?"

Anna crossed her arms and scowled. "Other than having my ear blown off because my shirt wasn't tucked in, awesome."

Will laughed softly in what sounded like a winded release of built up tension. "You must have met Sergeant Cromwell. He's a little rough around the edges but he has good intentions if a bit skewed. I'm sure he didn't mean to scare you."

"Funny," Anna grumbled then added, "He knew my dad somehow."

"Oh? What's his name?"

Anna flicked her eyes to a couple of NEST soldiers fighting with an over loaded dolly before returning her gaze to Will.

"His name was Swift," she answered neutrally.

Will's facial features twitched downwards then picked back up into a smile so fast Anna almost thought it hadn't happened. "Ah Swift. I-He was always stirring up some kind of trouble with the Pentagon even when he's halfway across the globe. I met him a couple times but I was still a rookie."

Anna never know how well known he was. "He never did tell me what exactly he did as a Marine."

She regretted not calling him on his phone more or asked him more questions the few times he came home. After yesterday there was a lot she suddenly regretted.

"I couldn't tell you much about him but I'm sure you could find more than a handful of people who knew him," Will said carefully.

"Hey Captain! Get a load of this hunk of junk!"

Lennox waved to Epps who was kicking the tire of a lime green Chevy with flames. Anna wondered where that hideous monstrosity had come from.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Will yelled in warning.

The little green car suddenly lurched back on its wheels and Epps barely escaped having his toes crushed. "This isn't one of those _things_ is it," he hollered back.

Epps got his answer when without warning the car exploded at the seams. Its parts moved in a controlled chaos that reconstructed themselves, moving higher and forming recognizable body parts until a robot was left standing in place of the car.

Anna's breath hitched in her throat and wanted to scream and cry, and throttle a few thousand sticks of dynamite down its throat all at the same time. The thing was almost too fake looking to be real with its mouse like features and hideous golden tooth that dangled loosely from its mouth. She was about to opt out and vomit.

"Hey what's do you think you're doing man? That ain't cool!" The robot threw its hands in the air and nearly stepped on Epps in the process.

Fear and anger clashed simultaneously in her brain and her fight or flight instincts braced themselves on a hair trigger. Anna stumbled backwards, watching the robot take a swipe at Epps and felt the strings of her world snap. She turned and ran with a frantic stumble and Will was quick to sprint after her.

Anna felt ashamed as she dashed around airplanes and dodged equipment and people alike. She broke through a tower of boxes and found herself face to face with squealing tires as a silver Corvette nearly plowed into her thighs. She gave a short screech of her own in surprise and almost stumbled over its hood but managed to keep on run.

She darted around the closest building and grabbed hold of a ladder that was conveniently placed next to hap-hazard garbage shoot made for containing discarded roofing materials. She clambered to the top and almost slipped several times in her haste. Once standing she could see in the distance that disgusting thing lumbering around the tarmac as men yelled incoherently at it but never once drew a weapon. Anna was expecting the thing to practically nuke the place in the matter of seconds if it could do anything like the other metal giant.

"Hey what do you think you're doing up there?" Someone was hollering at her from below.

Anna ducked her head and ran across the half finished rooftop until her foot hit a loose board and she found herself tumbling face first off the building. She threw her hands out to catch her fall and as dumped into a pile of insulation and shingles that hardly stopped her from smacking into the concrete underneath. A jolt of pain shot up her left wrist which added to her panic attempt to get untangled from the mess. She emerged throwing off scraps of pink insulation clinging to her clothes like it was a disease and found she was at a dead end. The only thing in the small alleyway smashed between the building and a high wire fence was the same black GMC she had seen earlier.

The clanging of metal on metal and the voice of that green mouse robot blended with the yelling voices of soldiers left little time for her to think straight. Anna sprinted towards the truck's back tire and used it as leverage to push herself over and into the bed. She whimpered as the she plastered her back to the stinging hot metal that had undoubtedly been sitting out in the sun all day. She clutched her pounding wrist and bit her lip against the searing heat amplifying her sunburn.

She waited for several long minutes and tried to steady her breath and think more clearly. Why was there a robot here? It obviously wasn't the same one from before. _That_ one had been so much bigger and nastier looking. This one stopped to talk to a human and there was nothing exploding yet but she could clearly picture a spindly claw rising into the air as she watched as it blast an aircraft carrier out of the water like it was made of cardboard. In an attempt to block the image she squeezed her eyes shut and curled into ball.

She hated herself and her current life. Anna knew she was stronger than this yet here she was about to break down in the back of some strangers pickup truck with a possibly broken wrist. She should have stood up to the robot and attacked it, thrown something at it, yelled at it, let it know how angry she was. Why couldn't she act on her deeper feelings?

Anna suddenly stiffened when she felt the GMC's powerful motor start up in a strong rumble. She hadn't heard anyone get in but she also couldn't remember if someone had been inside. The truck began moving at an unhurried pace that was barely fast enough to ruffle her hair and she hoped it wasn't planning on driving out onto the tarmac.

She kept her head down and watched as the vehicle passed under a ceiling that had to have been four stories high. The Topkick came to a full stop from its short run and Anna held her breath as it idled. Suddenly she found herself screaming as the bed of the truck seemed to flip upside down and tumped her out onto the floor. She could only watch in horror as the vehicle gave off an eerie sound unlike anything she had ever heard. It fell apart and rearranged itself in a whirr of sparks and moving gears until a bulky black and silver robot was left staring at her with intense, electrified blue eyes.

"What do you think yer' doin' punk?"


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own transformers

Edited 4/19/12

* * *

"What do you think yer' doin' punk?"

The giant black and silver robot swung its arms forwards and Anna found herself staring down two whirring cannons each big enough to swallow a small car.

"_Hmm_?" it grunted in impatience.

Anna felt a scream hitch in her throat and began crab walking away on her shaking limbs.

"Oh my God," she finely squeaked out.

A loud honk blared from a red car identical in make and model to the green one she had seen change earlier. The red Chevy plowed into the hanger and Anna came to the sickening realization that it was aimed right at her and had no intention of slowing down. She rolled to the side but would have been sideswiped if the red vehicle had not swerved straight into the robot's legs. Anna scramble out of the way to avoid being squished as the massive robot fell forwards with a heavy grunt. A giant metal hand came inches from crushing her skull when it tried to brace itself and She rolled out from underneath it and into a spring as fast and far away as she could.

"What in Primus' name are you doing?" the robot bellowed.

From its awkward position it tried to swipe at the red vehicle that expertly swerved around it and followed after Anna with a flash of its lights.

The warehouse she was in was for the most part cleared out except for a couple vehicles and piles of crates. The closest and most noticeable thing in the hanger was a bright lime green Search and Rescue Hummer so she made an immediate bee line for it.

The red car was nearly on top of her when she made a desperate grab for the back of the Hummer and propelled herself around it. She plastered her back to the vehicles rear as the red vehicle slammed on its breaks and skidded away in a loud screech that ended with it slamming into a pile of metal crates.

The heavy containers toppled over its hood with loud clangs that echoed about the hanger. There was a moment of silence then the same alien sound permeated her ears. Anna felt the truck she was against beginning to move unnaturally and couldn't have jumped away from it faster if it had been on fire. She watched stupefied as it began to stand up and twist around, rearranging itself just like the others. The red car behind her began transforming as well and heavy crates piled on top of it fell off as it began carelessly shoving them aside. Electronics, wires, and bits of packaging began spilling out all over the floor. A few stray objects shattered upon contacting the floor the items the robot was flinging off itself had enough momentum to zip past her head.

"Watch it you pit-spawned slagger!" The black robot hollered after deflecting a monitor the size of a flat screen TV with a slap of its hand.

A metal sheet became airborne over her head and Anna had long since lost of the ability to process fight or flight. Without thinking she threw her hands over her head and ducked in a fruitless effort to protect herself from the oncoming object. The neon robot lunged forwards and whacked it away with its arm. Anna could hear the metal give a grinding crunch as it bent upon contact then flew into the opposite wall with a bang that rivaled a gunshot.

She couldn't help but stare at the new wall ornament protruding from the side of the building. Anna swiveled her head around at the robots surrounding her and found herself falling on her butt speechless and on the verge of hyperventilating.

"Wow that was a doozy." the red painted robot stumbled out of the rubble shaking its head and looking unstable.

"You! Mudflap-" The black robot began but was cut off by a sharper voice of anger.

"What are you thinking! Are you _trying_ to injure everyone in a one hundred meter radius you confounded fool?" The lime green robot snarled.

The stocky robot with cannons stomped over to Mudflap and grabbed it by the scruff-bar, and forced it to look at him.

"I'll have your punk aft blasted back to Cybertron for this you rust bucket! What in the _pit _do you think you're doing?"

"Aw come on Hide' I waz only tryin' to have some fun around this here dump by helping youz scare that little girly over there. Youz just got in the wayz." Anna had to cringe against the red robot's onslaught of botched grammar.

It was saved from a verbal or physical thrashing by the arrival of a silver Corvette that came screeching through the massive bay doors, burning rubber under its tires until it came to a sudden stop near the lime green robot's foot. The passenger door swung open and Will Lennox came running to Anna's side completely undeterred by the massive machines looming above. He all but fell to his knees as he skidded to a stop and grabbed aholt of her shoulders.

"Anna! Are you ok?"

She couldn't speak through her near hyperventilating so she managed a jerky shake of mild acknowledgement.

"You know this human?" the black robot questioned after throwing the red one aside with a violent clang.

"Yo man that wasn't very nice," it barked yet was ignored.

"Yes, Ironhide," Lennox managed between breaths.

"I suggest you remove the female. She is showing signs of entering what you humans call shock," The Hummer above them interjected.

_Calm down, calm down_. Anna kept trying to steady herself by chanting in her mind but it would clash and scream for her to panic and get the hell out of dodge. If only her legs would have stopped shaking and let her get up she would have.

"Come on let's get you out of here. I'll tell you everything in a minute," Lennox tried to coax.

The silver Corvette transformed into a sixteen foot robot and Anna nearly felt her eyes pop out of her head. These things were everywhere! Where they some kind of new military weapon?

It walked with more grace than the bulkier robots and bent closer to Lennox and Anna's level.

"She isn't half bad looking. For a human that is," it said with a smirk. Its glowing blue optics that were so close Anna could see spokes spinning about inside that reminded her of a focusing camera lens.

"What the hell are they?" She breathed and tightened her hands around Lennox's arms which only fueled the pain in her wrist.

"Not helping," Lennox muttered at the Corvette through gritted teeth.

The robot took the hint and backed up with a dark chuckle.

"Lennox?" Anna could not form anything past the man's last name.

He sighed heavily, gripped her shoulders then looked her sternly in the eye. "Anna. These are the Autobots. They won't hurt you. They're different from the other ones; trust me. They're the good guys."

Anna nodded, or she thought she did. She could hardly believe any of this was real. Heck if she wasn't a part time fiction writer she never would have dreamed something like this up in a million years. But she had once or twice.

"What are they?" she asked in a near whisper.

"We are autonomous cybernetic beings from the planet Cybertron," The once emergency vehicle replied gruffly.

"No way," Anna breathed, "Y'all are robot aliens? That's insane."

"Transformers. Just don't go around calling them robots. They hate that," Lennox confirmed with a nervous snicker.

Anna felt the floor was standing a little stiller so she pulled away from his grip. "Wait, you mean that…thing that blew up the ship was a robot from outer space too?"

"Yes. But those were Decepticons…These are the Autobots, the good guys," Lennox repeated.

"Decepticons?" She tried the word slowly. "Sounds like something from a bad comic. No wonder they killed so many." Her tone was humorless and distant.

"Killed whoz?" Mudflap remained oblivious to the glares he was receiving.

"My dad and hundreds of other people," Anna provided dryly, "They blew up the ships and left us for dead."

Ironhide snarled like Rottweiler and swung out his humming cannons. "Decepticons. The pit spawn of the galaxy, the lot of them."

Each of the Autobots took on a dark look of their own.

"You were one of the survivors brought in then?" Ratchet asked.

Ratchet tapped the side of his head and a blue light shot out of his eyes that nearly blinded Anna. She jerked and was about to run but Lennox held her in place.

"Hold still," Ratchet barked.

She squinted against the florescent light and yelled angrily, "what the _hell_ are you doin' to me? Is this some kind of alien probe?"

The beam shut off and Ratchet held his bulky left arm in front of him to punch codes into a panel slid out from subspace. "It is a biomedical scan I altered to quickly assess the extent of injuries in your organic bodies without resorting to any invasive measures."

"Is he a scientist or something," Anna quietly questioned Lennox.

Lennox nodded. "He is their medic."

Anna made the immediate connection to his ironic Search and Rescue Hummer form. She assumed they were all male as well judging by their deep baritone voices and the information Lennox had given her.

Ratchet looked up from the data stream in his arm. "You have first degree burns all over your body, your cranial is bruised, and your wrist is strained. According to recent base medical records you are currently supposed to be in the infirmary. Mind telling me why you are out here causing trouble instead?"

Anna couldn't help but scowl. "Lets drop an F-18 Hornet on your head and see if you don't have a bruise. It's not like I broke my leg or anything."

"This girl's got bite. I like her," Sideswipe grinned.

Anna gave the fancy car turned transformer a perplexed look and hoped that was not some kind of twisted flirt. She could have smacked herself like a morbidly comical cartoon, or the creature itself for his rude comment.

Like a damned mind reader Ironhide did the honors for her.

Sideswipe ducked away to put distance between himself and Ironhide. "What in the pit was that for?"

"For being an imbecile that's what for."

Ratchet scoffed but made no comment.

Ironhide rolled his shoulders in an irritated way. "A better question is why you were hiding in my bed," He directed towards Anna.

Mudflap, who had been occupying himself by making faces at the Corvette guffawed loudly and took a dramatic stumble backwards. "That's funny man! I didn't know youz had it in ya."

Ironhide glared silently until Sideswipe added between a laugh, "Yeah, considering he'll probably never get a femme into his."

Ironhide bristled. "That's it. Both of you are on clean up then patrol duty for the next four days. No breaks!"

"What? I didn't do nothing!" Mudflap barked.

Ironhide revved his engine threateningly. "Now!"

Anna couldn't help but find the scenario morbidly funny. Alien robots making obscene jokes and being given punishments like a couple of high school kids. Who would have thought? All three of them launched out of the hanger before Ironhide could bodily throw them out.

"Now you are going to answer my question. Why are you not in the infirmary?"

Anna scowled up at Ratchet. "That is none of your business."

She couldn't help but turn around when the medic began stomping towards her and all but screeched when he reached down to grab her. Anna tried to roll away but for a twenty foot robot he was far more nimble than she expected and she found herself cornered by two massive hands that scooped her into their grip. Ratchet cupped one massive hand over the other and encased her in near darkness.

"Put me down goddamn it! Ill chew your arm off!" She thrashed to escape his grip.

"Hey Ratch' take it easy on the girl!" Anna heard Lennox holler from below and wished the hunk of space junk would listen.

"She will not be harmed further Lennox. I assure you. Though, I may have to strap this one down."

Anna tried her damndest to wiggle free while cursing death threats under her breath.

Outside in the early night Epps was chatting with Skids when Ratchet came stomping their way. "Yo Ratchet, what's with all the screaming humans lately?" Skids offered in greeting.

"Never you mind that. Go find your brother and Sideswipe and make sure they aren't wandering off."

Skids rolled his optics. "Yeah Mudflap told me about that. I can't believe I wasn't there." Ratchet's silent glare finally got him moving. "Ok ok. I'm going."

Ratchet accessed him external comm. link and ordered someone on the other line to, "Tell Dr. Johnson to get his aft out here."

Anna did not like the idea of seeing another doctor. She fidgeted uncomfortably in the small space but Ratchet would not budge. Just when Anna was ready to scream in frustration he lowered her to the ground in a wash of vertigo. Ratchet opened his hands and tilted them forwards so she could slide to the ground. Instead of slipping off as intended she clung to a giant finger and dangled from it to keep from falling.

"Girl come down here. You're in a lot of trouble for wondering off of your own and you're lucky the Autobot's medic radioed when he did or we would be sounding the alarm right now."

Anna looked down and silently studied a haggard looking man in a distinct white doctor's coat. She did not recognize him from the medical staff but he looked the part. Anna released her hold and dropped from Ratchet's hand. Johnson caught Anna by her stinging sun burnt arms and held onto her as if she might bolt.

Ratchet straightened and his electric orbs flashed down at them. "Maybe you should take better care of your patients. No topical agent has been provided for her burns and her wrist is untreated. I have half a CPU to inform your superiors of this gross oversight."

"I will run my clinic however I see fit Autobot. If you are so concerned for her _minor _injuries then why didn't you treat her while she was under your care?"

Ratchet gave an irritated click, "I do not yet have the necessary supplies that were promised by you."

Johnson merely scowled before pulling Anna towards the building behind them. "You'll get your supplies soon enough. After your med bay is finished being converted for human use and has been thoroughly inspected _then_ we'll talk about getting you supplies."

He tugged Anna inside, ignoring her un-appreciative glare, and slammed the door shut. She really didn't like this guy already and she had only known him for all of five minutes. He was loud, rude, and she wanted him to let go already. Johnson led her to the infirmary and ordered her to, "Stay put or I'll tie you to the bed post."

Anna crossed her arms and only sat down on the indicated hospital bed after he had disappeared into the office. At this point all she wanted was a hole in the wall she could crawl into and sleep in for the next few hours. Maybe then everything would go back to normal. The doctor came back with a roll of gauze and a clear bottle of Aloe Vera. He pulled a stool up to her bedside and deposited a kit on the rolling bed stand.

"Give me your wrist."

Hesitantly, Anna presented her damaged arm and stiffened when he began to gently palpate her hand and wrist. She flinched at his light touch as he squeezed various points around her joint. Johnson kept aholt of her hand began to tightly wrap her wrist in white tape.

"You sprang your wrist but that will heal up in about two weeks. Apply this," he held up the bottle of aloe vera for Anna to take, "once a day to your burns and for the sake of your health and sanity leave the robots alone."

Anna frowned at the terse doctor but managed a, "Thank you."

He stood and collected his supplies. "Don't wonder off again. All of you from the carriers will be transferred to temporary Barracks tomorrow so don't try to extend your stay by acting like a juvenile."

He glared at her pointedly then left for his office. Anna uncrossed her legs with a sigh and reached for the green bottle. She spread the gel across her angry red skin and immediately felt a radiating coolness that sizzled out the heat.


	5. Chapter 5

__Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers

Edited 4/19/12

* * *

_-NEST debriefing room-_

"Ratchet my old friend. It is good of you to join us," Optimus warmly greeted the last of his comrades to join the war room.

The medic nodded with a curt "Prime," as he joined the circle of Autobots and humans.

They were standing around a massive holographic image of the earth that was being projected from the floor via a piece of technology they had shared with Earth's people. The massive sphere bathed the dark room in a luminescent blue that glistened off their armor and shined up to the rafters running the length of the room were Human military strategist stretched about. A few decorated soldiers were walking cautiously about the Autobot's feet as they inspected the hologram and whispered quiet disapprovals to each other.

"And why are you so late in getting here? Just because you are a giant being from outer space it doesn't mean you are above the rest of the men here," A spindly man in glasses questioned loudly from near the base of Optimus' foot.

"Galloway, I was taking care of an accident that happens to be relevant to this meeting," Ratchet replied calmly. In reality he wished to take a wrench to the man's head but he was bound by an oath to not harm any human no matter how ignorant or brazen they were.

Galloway raised his eyebrows in a way that made him look, if possible, even more pompous. "Accident? This entire situation is a disaster I have seen coming for months. It's exactly as I said, your presence on earth brought them the Decepticons here."

Optimus stepped in before any unnecessary comments could be exchanged through their precarious relationships and patiently addressed the human-transformer liaison, "I will have to request you hold your opinions until after the debriefing."

Galloway was turning a dark shade of red but relented. "Very well Optimus Prime. Let us discus how and why this _accident_ has come to pass."

Thankful the man had backed down so quickly Optimus reached a servo out and touched a coordinates in the North Atlantic that caused the 3D image of earth to shrink into the floor and become replaced by a cubic screen that showed the same image on four sides. The current video feed showed a nocturnal green and black image of a calm body of water.

"I will rewind the video to 7:13 HRS over the North Atlantic when our satellite first captured movement," Optimus relayed in an all business tone.

The satellite was a combination of alien and human technology was fine enough to see details as small as freckles on a humans face with relative clarity. It was truly a mind blowing technology to a still blossoming sentient race. The officers in the building leaned over the railings and watched carefully as the correct data was fed and streamed through the advanced database. The screens switched to a normal day time setting and showed three aircraft carriers going about their intended business unhindered.

"At this time your submarines picked up five signals descending into the Atlantic's depths but thirty minutes before the abnormality we captured this image."

The screen went blank and came back on to display an overhead view of a tanker hauling crates of goods through the open ocean. The imaged enhanced onto its middle deck behind a stack crates to five construction vehicles. All at once the inanimate objects sprung to life and transformed to stand on two solid legs. They all looked at each other with ruby red optics before jumping off of their transportation and into the waters below. The room immediately erupted into a chorus of angry hollers.

"If this was captured on the satellites then why weren't we informed of it?"

"How could something like this slip by?"

"What's the number on that ship?"

"This," Optimus' voice silenced them instantly, "was not available to us at the time because a signal was altering our ability to communicate with the satellite. When we found out about the attack it was far too late to act."

"Fine then," one of the officers spoke. "Show us the carriers thirty minutes after this time."

Optimus obliged and returned the screen to the massive ships. The first abnormality in the scene was a massive missile that shot out of the water and took a giant chunk out of a carrier and ripped through a patrolling Hornet in the sky. The plane burst into a ball of flames as the rocket continued into the air and up past the atmosphere before disappearing from the satellites' line of sight. Soldiers spilled out onto the carrier decks like ants and as they scrambled to find the source of the threat and began launching as many plains in the air as they could.

The ship began to sink at an angle as more humans began pouring out onto the flight deck and the horror began to unfold. The room watched the rows of planes slide out of their emergency breaks and over the deck, sweeping people who got caught under them into the waters in a giant white froth. Others humans fell from the watch tower to meet their fates on decks below that made even the most hardened officers in the room cringe or hide behind a scowl.

The Autobots could feel their sparks wrench at the sight of the carnage and respectfully watched in silence at the destruction that once again took hundreds of lives in the wake of the Decepticon's path.

Ratchet couldn't help but twitch sharply from where he stood and had to all but weld himself to the spot. He suddenly itched to find the girl from earlier and scan her over again for any injuries he might have missed. She must have been injured far worse than he thought. Her injuries had been so minor yet she had aboard the very vessel they were watching sink to its grave. He mentally cursed himself for only doing a light scan. He did not trust the inferior human doctors in the infirmary to catch any serious internal problems if they were present and he would curse himself to the pit if his neglectance led to any kind of negative repercussions.

The video continued to stream until a figure burst out of the water that caught the breath of every human and bot in the room. A suspended waterfall of seawater cascaded off a metal humanoid with distinctly long vicious claws and blood red eyes. A chorus of outraged cries from both sides drowned the room with their echoes.

Ironhide roared the loudest above the commotion. "HOW IN THE _PIT_ IS HE ALIVE?"

"No," Ratchet croaked in utter disbelief.

Mudflap and Skids grabbed aholt of each other's arms and gulped loudly, "Oh that ain't good man. We're so dead," they both said shaking.

"Megatron," Optimus cursed under his breath.

Galloway stepped forwards with a bark, addressing the noisy room and managed to quiet it down to silent scowls of disapproval. "You see what they brought? These things will just keep coming as long as theAutobots are here on Earth. I say we tell them to leave and take their war with them!"

A few occupants yelled their concurring opinions which were deeply troubling to Optimus. "It would not be wise for us to withdraw now. The Decepticons are vengeful by nature and your planet is rich in resources. Especially now that Megatron is back they will become much bolder than they have been in the last couple of Earth years."

Optimus drew the humans in the room to the levitating screens where Megatron transformed his arms into a cannon and obliterated the remaining carriers. The camera panned out as more Decepticons arose from the depths of the ocean and followed Megatron as he blasted into the sky and past earth's atmosphere.

the secretary of defense stepped forwards for the first time and gave his firm opinion. "I believe Optimus Prime. The Autobots are allowed to stay and continue fighting alongside us."

Galloway opened and closed his mouth at a rapid pace but not even he could come up with a rebuke.

"We will not fail you," Optimus reassured.

Galloway couldn't see the logic in it in letting them stay. The Autobots should just leave. If they were gone then the Decepticons and their war would fallow after them away from earth.

"How can this even be possible? Can you all come back from the dead so easily?"

Optimus shook his head at the new speaker. "Under very rare circumstances a spark can be pulled back from the matrix. It has been done before but not even our people know how it happens."

More whispers erupted around the room and Optimus could hear each conversation no matter how soft. The questions the humans had were valid and their mistrust understandable but Optimus was certain if left the entire planet would die.

"It's obvious Megatron is back and there is nothing we can do but prepare for what comes next. I motion we adjourned this meeting and begin coming up counters measures to prepare for whatever comes next."

Several voices in the room seconded Keller's motion. The overhead lights brightened and people began to file out of the hanger. Keller waved for Galloway to come with him on his way out. The younger Autobots left the room soon after but a few stayed in troubled contemplation. Ratchet being one of them.

"This doesn't bode well for earth or anyone."

"Indeed," Ironhide agreed. "This is going to be bloody."

Optimus gave a heavy sigh. "I will be in my office."

"Optimus wait," Arcee, who had kept her thoughts to herself throughout the meeting approached Prime before he could leave. "Sir, this is a bit unrelated but it has been bothering me for a while."

Optimus gave her his full attention. "Go on," he urged.

"Prowl will be arriving in a couple of days with Barricade. I would like permission to meet him halfway and help bring the Con in. He shouldn't be out there by himself, especially not with Megatron on the loose."

Optimus knew Prowl had landed a couple of weeks ago with the request to drive to the base under his own power without telling the human military. He rationed it would be more secure if the Decepticons were not alerted to his landing site and it would allow him to assess the state of the planet. Optimus had agreed to this and in a matter of days had been awarded with a call from security officer who had caught the one Con they had been searching for for a couple of years now. At the moment Prowl was reported to have the Decepticon incapacitated and was on the move towards the base. It was a good opportunity to interrogate the Con at such a crucial moment but Optimus had a sinking feeling he would know little of Megatron's return.

"Yes Arcee you may go. It's time I informed the Secretary of Defense who is coming."

"Thank you Optimus." Archee gratefully bowed out and left the room on her spinning tire.

* * *

_-Anna's Pov-_

The next morning a NEST soldier announced that everyone who was able bodied would be moved into the barracks by the afternoon. In the mean time Anna treated herself to a shower armed to the teeth with soaps and civilian clothes provided by generous donations.

The lukewarm, non salted water felt good as it washed the dirt away from her skin. She didn't even mind taking the extra time it required to wash her hair out under the low pressure. While mindlessly pulling her hand through strands of long hair to push to soap out she bit the metallic object protruding from her mouth. It was probably ridiculous to take a shower with the tiny piece of metal but according to her dad it was important enough to keep on her at all times. Since she didn't want the thing stolen and no pockets were present on her person she decided to place it between her teeth while she showered. She had no idea what to do with it or who to tell about it or if she was supposed to do anything at all but she didn't mind having something to keep track of. With something to fiddle with and keep her hands occupied she would have less of chance for her mind to wander.

Anna had stayed up all night with a plagued conscious and the exhaustion was showing through dark circles under her eyes and stiff muscles. One guilty after thought had kept her up, thinking about Kyle and the woman who she now knew as Victoria. Anan wanted to apologize for acting like a child during the ordeal; she envied how well the woman not much older than herself had handled the situation.

Anna's shower was rudely interrupted when a girl came banging down the row of shower stalls hollering for the occupants to move out and let the next group in so Anna turned the water off and spit the shard out into her hand. She stepped out and changed into a t-shirt and a pair of denim jeans that didn't fit quite right. Putting the loathing of her wardrobe aside Anna brandished a brush and began raking the knots out of her hair while making way for the next wave of people. Just outside the wash room Anna bumped into Victoria who was quietly braiding her dirty-blond hair. Anna sought this as her chance and went over to sit against the wall by her.

"Hey," Anna greeted.

Victoria looked up with sullen eyes but she instantly flipped to a smile upon seeing Anna.

"How are you doing sweetie?"

Anna placed the brush in her lap and pulled a wet strand of hair through her fingers. She hated apologizing for anything but walking around with gnawing guilt was worse.

"I'm sorry for the way I acted and Thank you," There, she'd said it.

Victoria stared at her blankly and Anna feared she would have to explain herself. Almost instinctively she dropped her hands into her pockets and fingered the shard of metal she had placed there. It was becoming almost a nervous habit since she didn't have a necklace to fidget with like normal. The more she rotated the shard around in her fingers the more aware she became of the warmth glowing softly from it and of the subtle rhythmic pulse it gave off. Then again that could just be warmth from her own body the throbbing was just her own pulse as she held the object too tightly at times.

Fortunately Victoria realized what Anna meant before asking for an explanation. "I don't blame you. A couple of guys were hauled away because they couldn't stop screaming. I would say you faired far better than they did."

Anna nodded and fidgeted with the piece of metal for a moment before standing up.

"Want me to help you with that?" she indicated at Victoria's half braided hair.

"Sure that would be great."

Victoria turned to the side and gave Anna a decent vantage point to work from. It wasn't much of a big deal to braid her hair but Anna felt the small jester was at least some way to repay Victoria.

The hall was quiet except for a few people milling about but for once Anna tried to break the silence. "So do you know which room you're going to be in?"

Victoria shook her head but stopped when she realized it made Anna's work harder. "They want to keep me in the medical part a bit longer to watch the little lump in my stomach. Apparently the baby got a little jarred in the incident."

The woman was already speaking of the Decepticon encounter as if it were taboo and Anna couldn't blame her. Anna let the subject drop and they fell into a companionable silence. She allowed her mind to wonder on a few of her favorite songs and began mentally playing clips of them. Anna wished she had her iPod with paper and a pen. Busying herself by creating a story or continuing one of the many she had stewing in her brain would be amazing with music to set the mood. It wasn't too much of a stretch to pretend she was in the middle of a sci-fi novel right now but the difference between writing and reality was she had no control of her situation. At least words were something she could direct down a desired path with her own two hands. Everything happening in the present was all real and Anna was having a hard to slapping herself to wake up to it.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own transformers

* * *

"Anna!"

The said young woman smiled while mentally cringing as her second shadow barreled into her leg and clung to it.

"That guy is trying to put me in a room with weird people," Cooper wailed.

Anna looked up just in time to see a flustered NEST soldier enter the infirmary and upon catching sight of Cooper his faced flushed an even deeper red before he stomped over to them.

"Is this little monster yours," he asked through hard breaths.

Anna immediately recoiled from the thought of being Cooper's mother. It was true that Victoria was close to her own age and pregnant but she felt slightly insulted to have this soldier think she had created this abomination.

"No he's not," she replied wrinkling her nose.

"Then would you _kindly _hand him over to me. I've been chasing this kid for over half an hour."

Anna held her arms in the air in a notion of 'come and take him' so he reached out to grab Cooper but the boy used Anna's body as a shield and scooted around her legs.

"No!"

He began wailing like an infant and frankly it was getting on her nerves. With a huff she grabbed aholt of his hand and prevented the boy from retreating any further.

"Cooper you need to listen to what he's telling you," she warned softly.

The soldier took the opportunity and grabbed aholt of the back of his shirt and forced the boy to look at him.

"Do as the nice lady says and come with me. I'm sure you'll like the new bedroom we have set up for you."

"No! I want Anna and Tyler!"

Cooper began kicking and clawing at the poor soldier.

"_Gah_. Come on kid it's not like I'm gonna gut you or somethin'."

That only made Cooper scream louder, "He's going to eat me! Anna save me!"

She could only roll her eyes inwardly and reached her hand out for the animalistic boy.

"Come here Cooper I won't let the big scary man take you."

The boy easily tore out of the man's grip after the soldier caught her subtle wink and Cooper came barreling into her arms.

"Why don't you show me why your room is so scary?"

Cooper looked up at her and scrunched his nose up, "No way you're a girl. You'll just scream and cry."

She could have throttled the boy for that but she took deep breaths and felt her smile twitch, "I bet I could scare them away even better than Tyler could."

"O yeah," he childishly challenged.

She narrowed her eyes and offered darkly, "Hell yeah."

She let that one curse word slide; it wasn't as if the boy didn't hear it at school every day anyway.

"Fine but if you cry I get a coke!"

The NEST soldier led the way to the Barracks and stood aside to motion towards a room with its door held ajar. Anna led Cooper into the room and felt the boy's sweaty hand tighten around her fingers. She had to admit it to him, not a moment after she had entered she wanted to leave herself. There were a few survivors she recognized the faces of in the room but only one of them stood out from the rest. The crazy old man who had taken the liberty of scaring everyone out of their wits was sitting on a bunk with his head between his knees. His eyes held a vacant look and his mouth was twisted into a scowl. His was complacent for now but Anna didn't want to stick around for another one of his episodes.

Carefully she bent down to Cooper and held his arms lightly so he wouldn't run away.

"Why don't you show me which bed is yours?"

He pointed in a general location and began tugging her along the far side of the wall away from the old man.

"This one."

He made a running jump for the bed and plopped onto it with his bottom. She sat lightly on the mattress next to him and heard it give a nasty squeak.

"But I don't want to sleep in the same room as that guy," he whinnied pointing to the old man.

"Do you think you're a man?"

He looked at her confused so Anna rephrased the question, "Are you a boy or are you a man?"

The instant he understood the boy puffed his chest out and looked her square in the eyes, "I'm a man," he huffed out.

"Then why don't you prove it to me by sleeping in here," she challenged with a smirk.

"But I don't wanna…"

"Are you a man or aren't you?"

She couldn't believe she was pulling the old pep talk her dad used to give her. As a young child she was afraid of the dark so her mom would check the closet and look under the bed for lurking monsters. But when they got divorced and she ended up living with her dad she was often left alone and would wake up in the middle of the night frightened. She would use the phone to call his cell in which ever country he was stationed and he would give her the same pep talk each time.

"_Only children are afraid of the dark. A real Woman isn't afraid of anything."_

"_Now are you a Woman or aren't you?"_

And every time she would shout _"I'm a woman,"_ into the receiver and bravely go back to bed.

Anna was amazed that he never once complained about the long distance bills she was now sure were racked up back then by her childish fears. But she couldn't say she didn't appreciate the time he took each night to ignite her courage.

Cooper flopped down over the bed chanting he was a man and buried his face into the pillow making snoring noises to show he was ready to take on her challenge. Anna smiled and stood from the stiff bed. She caught Cooper watching her with determined eyes from under his arm and walked slowly to the entrance happy that the old man hadn't opened his mouth yet. Because if he did all the confidence she had built up in Cooper would go flying out the window faster than a mad bull. The soldier at the entrance still had the door propped open for her and he gave a word of gratitude for helping him get 'the little monster' in his room.

Anna would have walked back to the infirmary to wait for her room's escort to show up but her mind and body were far too restless. Instead she made the perilous trip out onto the airstrip where a continuous stream of supplies were still being brought in by boats and massive cargo planes. It looked as if they were stalking up for a long war, and they probably were.

A honk from behind startled her but oddly she wasn't surprised to see a silver corvette rumbling behind her. The disguised transformer drove around to her side and popped its passenger door open in a clear sign that it wanted her to climb in. Anna scowled and looked around suspiciously. Nobody seemed to mind the alien vehicle even though a few of them glanced quickly in its direction for the sake of what it was.

She couldn't fathom why this alien wanted her to sit in it. Maybe it wanted to abduct or simply play scare the little human female and make it mad. If he tried the latter she would kick his innards in that were surly to be on the inside of its vehicular form until it screamed for mercy or squished her. Its engine rumbled impatiently so with one last look around her for anything odd she decided to take the risk and took the dive. What did she have to lose?

Anna climbed into the seat and reached out to pull the door but it sung shut before she could even touch it. She sat rigidly in the fancy vehicle and was amazed at how normal everything looked. She could name everything in the car from the radio to the speedometer; nothing betrayed its alien nature. The 'car' moved forwards at an easy pace and Anna gripped her seat and stared at the dash board intently.

"What is your designation little girl?"

The soft voice coming from the speakers startled her and earned the transformer a scowl.

"Why don't you tell me yours first," she replied curtly.

"I'm Sideswipe. One of the classiest bots around."

It was oddly humanoid in the way he gloated about himself and completely juvenile. Anna could genially say she was surprised at how much feeling was in the robots voice and it wasn't so…well, robotic as she would have pictured.

"Anna. A _little_ girl who's gonna kick yer' butt if you try anything funny."

She heard and felt a chuckle that rumbled down his entire frame.

"You sound a lot like the dialect Ironhide decided to download for his human voice….Your attitude could match his too. Say where are you from?"

Anna sat up straighter in her seat, "I'm from Texas," she declared proudly.

"Oh, you mean those humans who ride horses through tumbleweeds and shoot at each other in fancy western movies? Cowboys," he asked enthusiastically.

Anna could have smacked her palm over her head but rolled her eyes instead, "Maybe a hundred years ago. No I live in an apartment in the suburbs with no horses or tumbleweeds in sight," she decided to add darkly, "But I do have a shot gun in the closet…"

"All right all right. No need to get all offensive."

"So…Sideswipe. Why did you want me in here," she asked to change the subject to the matter at hand.

"Well…I wanted to show you around since…you're new and all!"

His answer started out hesitant causing Anna's sharp instincts to immediately sniff out the lie but decided to let it slide anyway.

"And show me what? I already know where the bathroom is."

The fancy sports car came to a stop and Anna noticed for the first time they were in a huge warehouse. She cursed herself for not paying more attention to the world outside; she was just too focused on watching the robots every interior move. The door popped open and she couldn't have been happier to get out. The room was humongous but empty of any other warm bodies and since her focus had not been on her surroundings she had no clue on how to backtrack to the exit, that thought unnerved her more than anything.

The Corvette fell to pieces then and Anna watched in morbid fascination as it transformed into its bipedal form. It was much more intimidating this way and she didn't like feeling so extra small next to him. She could feel all of her muscles tightening and heart beginning to race as her body readied itself for the fight or flight response.

"Here we are," he declared sitting his metal behind down on the ground in a loud crash.

Anna shoved a hand into her pocket and clutched the shard of metal to draw on its warmth and familiarity.

"Here we are what," she asked cautiously.

"Well," he said scratching the back of his head nervously, "I just thought that…Here you might like this."

He flipped his arm over and a tiny box emerged from absolutely no where. A small instrument protruded from one of his fingers and grappled the miniscule object before he bent down nearly to Anna's level to present the small prize. She placed her hands underneath it and the Transformer dropped his hold on the object. She turned the box over on its side and found it was the retail box for an iPod classic. She could have squealed for joy just then, it was as if the Transformer had been reading her mind but that's exactly what kept her from jumping up and down.

"I hear humans your age love these things so I downloaded it with popular music from each genre."

His voice was searching as if he was awaiting her full approval and in fear of disappointment. Anna flipped the box over before popping it open and finding a sleek black iPod inside, nothing out of the ordinary.

"Do you want something from me or are you just feeling guilty," she asked skeptically.

"I would never-," he snapped and then stopped abruptly, "Well yeah. Just call it an apology for the way I acted yesterday. I mean I almost ran you over then I began making rude comments."

She didn't think he could have really been feeling guilty about anything and was fully ready to take on anymore snide comments like their last encounter but for the first time she was shocked into silence.

"A truce," he asked hesitantly.

Anna eyed him carefully. What his said was true but she couldn't believe for the life of her for why a giant alien robot would want to make up for past actions out of guilt. He could bark demands and squish her if she didn't do as he said. But if he had the humility to apologize, and she was sure she could see the sincerity in his baby blue eyes, maybe she could accept and believe his words.

"Only if you agree to not flirt with me anymore, its creepy," He nodded, "Then, truce," she agreed.

"I swear you slagging pit-spawned imbeciles should have stayed in outer space. You're nothin' but a giant pain in my aft!"

Sideswipe watched with amusement as Ironhide came pounding into the room with Mudflap and Skids dangling from his fists that were raised on either side of him. In two giant heaves he hurled the twins across the room where they barrel rolled over each other into the opposite wall.

"Yo man that was muh face you sick mutha!"

"Move yo' leg!"

"SILENCE," the irritated officer bellowed.

Anna glanced around at Sideways, "Are they always like that?"

Sideswipe stood on his feet and crossed his arms over his chest with a clang, "Yeah but they're just complete morons that wouldn't be able to find their way out of a wet trash can. You should see it when my brother and I get together. We're the most notorious bots around," he said grinning toothily.

"Wet paper bag you mean?"

He nodded, "Yeah whatever."

Ironhide started when he saw Anna standing next to Sideswipe and suddenly rounded on the younger bot.

"What in the pit are you doing with the female," he snarled.

He grinned smugly, "Making friends."

Anna placed her hands on her hips and glared up at the black transformer, "I ain't just a female. I have a name you know. It's Anna. Don't address me like some kind of animal."

Ironhide's harsh gaze turned on her and he took the liberty of marching into closer quarters with the young adult.

"I will call you whatever I damn well please human. Now I don't believe I was talkin' to you."

That got Anna fired up and she didn't care about anything else that flew from her mouth as long as it defended her individuality and respect.

"No you WON'T call mewhatever you_ damn well please_. My name is Anna. And I don't care if you weren't talkin' to me. I'm standin' right here and it's damn disrespectful," The madder she got, the heavier her Texan accent became.

Ironhide growled and lifted his cannons to her face. She watched them spark to life with blue plasma but she was too mad to care if he obliterated her right then and then.

She narrowed her eyes, "Go ahead. Shoot."

His blue optics narrowed, "You do realize I am the weapon specialist and the head of punishment detail don't you?"

Anna leaned towards his massive cannons and even took a step forwards.

"You have guts human _and_ are as foolish as a youngling. You are lucky I am under orders to not harm any humans or you would be an organic splatter on the wall."

His weapons powered down and Anna couldn't help but feel a small bit of satisfaction as the massive Transformer backed off.

"What in the pit is with all the racket in here?!"

A very grouchy looking Ratchet stomped into the room and didn't look at all surprised to find the twins sprawled out on the floor and Ironhide looking just as ruffled with the younger recruits as ever. What caught the lime green medic's optics was Anna standing just below the weapon specialist's feet.

"What in Primus' name are you five doing," he asked more tiredly this time.

"Just putting the younglings in their places…again," Ironhide rumbled.

Ratchet continued into the room and stood in front of Sideswipe and Ironhide, "Scoot," he demanded.

The two did as he said and carefully backed off to give the medic a clear field of vision of Anna. She looked to the two robots retreating beside her before coming to rest her eyes on the CMO.

"Come here."

Anna stayed silent and cautiously approached the crouching Transformer. He laid his hand palm up on the floor in a clear notion for her to climb on. She stopped in her tracks and looked at it questionably. The last time she was scooped into his hands she wasn't able to see anything, and she hated heights.

Ratchet coaxed a little more forcefully this time, "Come on now don't make me force you."

His other hand reached behind her and was aiming to push her forwards but she quickly walked onto his palm under her own power. The giant fingers curled around her body and she fell flat on her butt when he stood up. Her heart rate increased exponentially and she could feel a strong sense of vertigo that caused her to grab aholt of one of the fingers in a tight hug.

He walked through absolutely massive halls that could have fit a semi or two and came to a stop at a door that was equally as massive. It hissed open like out of some kind of Sci-fi movie and Anna couldn't help but gawk at the sight of a massive blank table in the middle of the room ringed by what could only be described of as alien technology. Ratchet passed the massive operating table though and walked to a far corner of the room where packaging boxes were stacked high next to a human sized area that consisted of a few twin size beds and what looked to be more human like medical instruments all upon a raised shelf that was barred off by a low railing.

He placed his hand on the spacious shelf that could have been a room in itself and allowed her to walk off of his palm under her own power, albeit a little shaky. She turned around watched him for any sign of what was next and was dismayed to find herself blinded once again by an intense scanner. The blue light disappeared and Anna was left partially blind as a beep sounded from across the room. Ratchet moved over to a huge computer monitor and began punching in demands. She was a bit shocked to find the outline of a human taking up the screen and watched as he shifted through several layers of tissue, muscle, veins, and bone.

"What are you doing?"

Her voice was soft and she felt foolish for asking a possibly stupid question.

"I'm checking your body for any abnormalities."

Anna furled her brow in confusion, "Why?"

Was she about to go radioactive or something she wondered?

"Something is disrupting my scans at her right hip," he noted thoughtfully to himself.

Anna could clearly see a white blotch covering up the said area on each layer. Ratchet stood from his seat and came back over to Anna.

"Take your blue jeans off so I may inspect the area."

Anna started backing away slowly and waved her hands in front of herself.

"What are you trying to do," she asked uncertain.

"I am merely checking for injury," he stated as if what he asked for was completely normal, "I care not for your human modesties and I find no sense of pleasure in unclothing you."

Anna's jaw could have dropped but she didn't feel any less uncomfortable.

"You need to calm down. Your vitals are spiking exponentially."

"I thought you already scanned me for injuries the last time."

She couldn't believe that was all he was up to, there had to be some other motive he was after. Maybe he was seeing if her body was just right for some messed up medical experiment.

"Last time you said a military Hornet had been dropped on your head. I thought you were merely exaggerating so I did not scan deeply or thoroughly enough. But I was proved wrong."

Anna shook her head, "I'm fine, really. Nothing else is wrong with me."

"Show me then," he demanded.

She cringed and without truly taking her pants off she pulled them down on one side so he could see the perfectly normal flesh underneath.

"See? Perfectly fine."

He stared intently at the spot for a moment before withdrawing, "My scans show no further harm," he declared.

Anna huffed a sigh of relief and shoved her hands into her pockets and grabbed aholt of the metal shard for comfort.

"The human's are radioing for you again. It would be wise if you didn't keep wondering off as you are."

In a strike of irony or good luck the med bay doors opened to reveal a sheepish looking Sideswipe and a peeved looking doctor at his feet. The head medical officer for the humans came marching into the room and scowled at seeing Anna upon her high perch.

"Ratchet!"

The said medic turned around with an incoherent grumble and addressed the bellowing man, "I was just returning her Johnson."

"Of course you were," he snapped, "You've not even had your human medical facilities for one day and already you're breaking the rules."

"I was merely checking over the girl. This area has been used for nothing but its intended purpose."

He didn't look the least bit convinced. Anna spotted a ladder and an elevator that she had concluded were for human use so she clambered down the steps before Ratchet could get the idea of grabbing aholt of her again.

"I told you I'm fine," she told the bickering doctors.

Both of them turned and glowered at her.

"Come with me young lady."

Anna didn't question Johnson and allowed him to grip her arm drag her back to the human infirmary while feeling a burning embarrassment like a child caught doing something wrong. The only sympathy she got was a remorseful look from Sidewipe.

* * *

Just to clear up Sideswipes sudden behavior turn if you didn't catch it; After he saw the video at the meeting he felt guilty for the way he and the others had treated Anna, and due to his nature he wanted to apologize and make it up to her. Or at least I assume that's his nature, I never watched very many episodes of G1. Thank you for all who review; it's what really drives me to keep writing!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own transformers

* * *

Anna usually didn't consider herself a restless person but she was well aware of her low tolerance for idiots. She couldn't really blame the group of girls for trying to act cheerful and forget about their troubles for a few hours but there was only so much off key singing and boy band gossip she could take. The only reason she had made it this far was because of Sideswipe's gift that quickly became her little slice of heaven.

After going through her nearly normal paces of the morning Anna found herself taking her regular trip to the infirmary.

"Hey Vicky."

The blond woman she had recently come to call her friend smiled up at her brightly. In a sluggish motion she placed her book on the floor and Anna followed it hungrily with her eyes. Though she had been trapped at the base for nearly over a week she still hadn't been able to get her hands on a book or even a scrap of paper.

"How are you doing hun?"

Anna should have been the one asking that question. Victoria's early pregnancy was being rough on her. Twice she had been subjected to a blood clot and her abdomen that was half the size of a basketball was giving her far more pains than were usual.

Anna snorted, "Other than being driven crazy by juvenile thirty year olds, great. When are they going to let us go home?"

Victoria clicked her tongue, "You act like a forty year old yourself," then her mouth twisted into a frown, "They keep telling us it's for our own safety but when do they ever tell the truth? I mean I can't even call my own mother for god's sake."

Anna nodded thoughtfully. She knew that what she had thrown on her plate was a fantasy writer's dream and she would be lying if she said there wasn't a miniscule throb of excitement that came along with it; but she wanted her bed, her dog, and her whacky neighbor back at least for a little while. She really wished she could call Jack. Anna had to admit that at first she wanted nothing more than to go home but she was becoming more and more interested in the aliens each day.

She still had a hard time grasping their size and origins but the terror they had stewed in her was slowly diminishing to a simmer. Especially after Sideswipe came into her good graces by providing a piece of sanity for her.

"How is he doing today?"

Victoria put an instinctive hand over her bulging stomach and gave a small smile.

"Still giving me a heck of a time. I bet he'll come out climbing fences and barking orders just like his father."

Anna chuckled lightly for her sake but she didn't find the comment the least bit amusing. In fact it was almost morbid; she didn't miss the look in her eyes, her slumping body posture, or the drifting of her voice.

"You look tired, I should let you get some rest," Victoria nodded silently in response, "I'm going to check on Tyler for a bit."

"Just remember you promised to let me know when your boyfriend wakes up," she smirked.

"Haha very funny," Anna replied dryly.

Respectfully she left the woman to her reminiscing thoughts and made her way to Tyler's bedside. He was still in a coma and his sickly look wasn't bringing very much encouragement. Apparently he had split his head open on god knew what and his right leg had been nearly shattered. Silently she brushed her good hand through his soft hair willing him to open his eyes. She wanted her friend to wake up so he could crack stupid jokes with her and make everything go back to normal.

"Scoot."

Anna jumped and moved out of the way of a crabby Johnson and respectfully gave him a wide berth. He took her place beside Tyler and began checking his routine vitals.

"You know, one of these days a higher up who cares will catch you wondering around," he said without looking up.

Anna crossed her arms and leaned all of her weight on one foot, "I'm so glad the person in charge of my health _care's_ so much," she said sarcastically.

"Get out already. You're disturbing my patients."

Anna stuck her tongue out at his back and turned to leave. But a hard smack to the back of her head had her whirling around and clutching the assaulted area. At her feet was an innocent looking ball point pen.

"I saw that young lady. Don't think I missed that disrespectful gesture."

Johnson was already turned back to his patients as if nothing had happened.

"You suck," she mumbled.

"Out!"

Grouchy doctor said, Anna wondered out onto the runway to see if she could find Sideswipe. Of course she had to be stealthy about it since she wasn't really allowed to even leave her room. Being in civilian clothes among sharply dressed N.E.S.T. soldiers unfortunately made her stick out like a beacon to boot.

She dived behind a crate of boxes and peered out in search of her flashy friend. The loud rumble of a massive engine snapped her attention to the left and she found herself scrambling backwards to keep her hand from being crushed by a semi with flames. It had been a while but she defiantly remembered seeing this flashy truck driving around without a trailer before. The very unmilitary characteristics of the vehicle led her to the immediate conclusion that it was an alien. A sudden thought occurred to her and she grinned. Where ever it was going the other robots were sure to be around but she prayed that where ever it went wouldn't be with Ironhide. They were on a hair-trigger at the moment with each other, the last time she saw him they got into a verbal fight that ended in an unplanned, smoldering new door and Anna losing a few hairs. It was probably safe to say they weren't allowed to be in the same room anymore.

The massive semi passed by her hiding spot, casting a cooling shadow over her as it momentarily blocked out the sun. She watched it make its way to a hanger that opened its doors upon the truck's arrival. Thinking her quarry might be in there she stealthily made her way to the back of the building and began searching for any side doors. To her luck Anna found a construction ladder that led up to a fresh door frame that was blocked from the elements with nothing but a blue tarp. She prayed there weren't any workers around today and crawled up to the small space.

Her feet touched down on a metal catwalk that forced her feet to tread lightly. She pushed back the corner of a tarp that obstructed her view and found herself look down, far down over a railing. She crouched down to her knees and peered over what could have been two stories down. The red and blue semi was parked at the center of the building with the irritating man Galloway scowling at it and and to her dismay she clearly recognized the GMC topkick directly below her that was being leaned on by William Lennox. Her brown eyes ignited with anger and she had half a mind to chunk the electric screwdriver lying conveniently by her feet onto his roof.

Anna jerked her head to the flaming semi as the distinct and alien sound of a Cybertronian transforming reached her sensitive ears. In awe she watched as the peterbilt truck's grill spit open and in a flurry of chains and tires it unfolded itself from a crouching position. Its tires spun fervently and gave off the high pitch sound of an overtaxed belt and the former truck stood up to be one of the tallest Transformers she had seen yet.

Almost before the Semi could finish transforming Ironhide's form gave a shudder and as soon as Will stepped out of the way he was transforming as well. The stocky weapon specialist came up several heads short next to the new Transformer and Anna was quick to take note of this and stored it away in her brain for later. The grouchy old rust bucket for brains had insulted her stature as, "_puny human_," and if he ever mentioned it again she would _kindly_ remind him he was short for his species too.

"So Optimus Prime, where is Witchikity? Or have you failed at that too," Galloway addressed the new massive Autobot in a way Anna was sure would knock him a few more notches down the food chain very soon; especially with the look Ironhide was giving him.

Optimus pinched the bridge of his nose in a very human like gesture that reminded Anna of an old man who was in need of a serious vacation, or serious retirement.

"I am afraid not."

His voice was anything but old sounding, wise yes, but old no. It was almost bone chilling in the way it commanded Anna's limbs and mind to sit up and pay attention.

"Samuel Whitwicky did not want to speak on our behalf…He claims normalcy is what he needs in his life at the present time."

She could hear the deep disappointment in his synthesized voice and she was suddenly glad she wasn't this Samuel guy.

"So now you have no human to speak on your behalf except for me. I know Keller told you that you would be allowed to stay on Earth but just so you know shortly after that meeting I was given a promotion and I can now override his decision."

"I understand Mr. Galloway," Optimus acknowledge tiredly.

A sharp pang in Anna's lower leg nearly allowed a startled yelp to slip. She craned her neck around to see Cooper glowering at her in a similar crouched position.

"Cooper what are you doing," she hissed quietly.

You left me with the crazy guy and never came back. You're a big stinking liar."

"Cooper!"

He stuck his tongue out at her and crawled past her down the rafters. Anna silently cursed after the boy and followed at a crawl. The last segment of the under construction catwalk was roped off by caution tape and a few feet behind it was a sudden drop where the raised flooring ended.

"Cooper," she hissed a little louder, "Get back here now!"

She craned her neck to see if they had been spotted but it was hard to tell through the tarps. Cooper climbed over the caution tapes into the open area that didn't have a tarp in sight. He stood up and began waving his arms in the air.

"Now I'm going to get you in trouble with the adults and robots," he said triumphantly.

Where he had met the Cybertronians or when she couldn't fathom but right now his bravado was sure to get her into more trouble than she was asking for.

"Hey big robot things! she's over here! Look!"

Anna could hear the whirring of gears but no one moved except for two pairs of human feet. Not only was she getting caught but it was painfully obvious that Cooper was in a dangerous place for a child, or any one for that matter. Those caution tapes and welding tools weren't there to look pretty.

She dropped her whispering and snarled at the boy, "Get yer' butt back here _right_ now before I come at yah with a hot iron! And not the hair curling kind!"

"What is a little boy doing in a high security Military bunker? Wait that's the brat from the carriers!"

Galloway's irritating voice wasn't helping matters and his grating attitude was only making her more agitated. Anna climbed over the caution tape, mindful of the stares she was receiving and tried to get to the flailing child.

"Hey kid get down from there!"

Will urgently tried to attract Cooper's attention with a wave and it worked, but not with the effect he wanted. Cooper blew a raspberry at the soldier and began kicking heavy boxes with his foot to create extra noise.

"YOU," Ironhide bellowed, "What in Primus' name are you doing now you insufferable human maggot?!"

"Ironhide stand down."

The effect was immediate and the salty old mech halted at Optimus' command.

"Child that area is not safe. Please follow the female's orders and return to her."

Cooper wailed a loud "No," and in that instant you could have swept Ironhide up off the floor.

"Why you disrespectful little cretin! I should have you-"

"Anna get down from there it's going to give!"

Will saw it before anyone heard it. The segment learched downwards in a high pitch screech and gravity began to seriously work against her. Anna jumped over to Cooper and grabbed aholt of his flailing arms and forced him to start marching upwards.

"Get yer' butt up there now!"

She shoved Cooper up to the stable part of the catwalk and fell to her knees in a painful clang and lost her grip on the vertical slope. She slid down the slick metal at an increasing rate until she painfully caught herself on the railing at the last minute. With a grunt she heaved herself up and locked her arms around the bar in a death grip.

"Let go human," Ironhide huffed.

Anna looked down and instantly regretted it. Her feet dangled far, far away from the ground and below her Ironhide was standing with his hands on his hips. She scowled and knew the 'bot must have been loving this, even if his face _was_ twisted into a scowl.

She shot him a nasty look, "And let you laugh as my _organic guts_ splatter on the floor? Not likely," she scoffed mocking one of the many distasteful descriptions he had thrown her way.

"Someone get that girl down before she kills herself," Galloway yowled in near hysterics.

"I ain't gonna let you hit the floor," Ironhide coaxed, mildly ignoring Galloway.

His voice was gravely and she could hear the insults he was biting back for reasons she couldn't fathom. He was always so trigger happy and rough spoken so why he would go all tight lip and try to help her was beyond herself, for once. She looked back up the ramp with and muttered a, "yeah right," as her limbs began to shake from holding up her weight.

"Stop bein' stubborn an' let go," he barked.

"Anna listen to him and let go. I promise he won't blast a hole through your head like he tried to last time."

Ironhide gave Will a distasteful look and shot Optimus a short glace that in turn received the black 'bot a curt look. The falling segment gave another shudder and fell a few inches more issuing a shriek from Anna. A heavy box full of equipment became unhinged and began sliding strait for her. All she could do was duck her head and hang on tighter from her helpless position. Unfortunately her poor upper body strength had no hope of counteracting the heavy box and it knocked her weakened arms from their grasp. With a scream choking her throat to silence time seemed to slow as she fell. With her back facing the floor all she could do was watch as the rafters above began to shrink up and away.

Ironhide panicked and leapt for the falling girl. He curled his hands around her protectively and crashed to the ground where not even a second later the heavy tool box hit him across the cranial. He gave a great '_oof_' and crashed the rest of the way down on top of his enclosed hands with static swimming across his vision. Anna heard a great crunch above her blacked hiding spot and was sure she was about to be crushed any minute but as fast as it had begun it was over and she was left trembling and panting in the dark.

"Ironhide!"

Will rushed to his friend's side and Optimus carefully picked his to the catwalk where Cooper was now cowering.

"Come on now little one," he urged as calmly as he could.

Even the defiant Cooper finally felt his effects and climbed into his hand without so much as a complaint.

"Slagging son of a glitch…"

Ironhide cursed colorfully as his vision began to return to normal. He could feel the trembling form in his hands just as acutely as the giant dent in his cranial and he was suddenly afraid he had damaged the organic. As much as he hated this human he couldn't just let her die or become injured, it was against his code. Carefully he scooted himself up off the floor and stood on his feet. Ironhide parted his massive hands to show a shocked and terrified Anna in his grip. As rude and outspoken as this young woman had been the last few days he was genuinely surprised to see her so frightened when she had even refused to back down after staring straight into his cannons.

"Human-"

He didn't get very far when Anna snapped at him, "What the hell are you lookin' at you cheeky bastard. Yer' just lovin' this aren't you," and all but returned to normal with the uncontrollable tremors aside.

"You little punk! I should have just let you fall you ungrateful little…" and Ironhide was back to normal too.

Anna didn't like being afraid, it made her feel weak and vulnerable and that made her angry. Some would call it animalistic or immature but it was the only way she knew how to counteract her fears. When she was little bullies would pick on her all the time, not physically but verbally. In response she began lashing out with words and in turn they slowly began backing off. That was one of the few things she was good at, words. She could spin her way around the simple letters of the alphabet and create any image she desired through them.

"Ironhide," Optimus commanded, "Let her down."

The weapon specialist shut his ever insulting trap and set her down with a growl meant for no one but her. Ungracefully she fell on her butt since her limbs were still shaking uncontrollably and her paralysis was only making her madder.

"Anna I'm sorry!"

Cooper barreled into her spaghetti arms and clung to her triceps in a snot filled face. She would have snapped at him but all of her anger was focused on the mech before her and Cooper clinging to her was only causing her insides to twist even tighter and her heart rate skyrocketed.

"I'll never do it again I'm sorry," he repeated.

Will was the next one to come crashing in on the scene and immediately tried to draw her glare away from Ironhide.

"Anna? Hey are you alright?"

Optimus walked to Ironhide's side and watched the three humans with concern.

"She is not damaged is she?"

Anna refused to tear her gaze from the black mech's blue orbs and in turn Ironhide did not falter from his starring match with her. Then her gaze began to waver and she didn't believe it was happening even when the first fat tear fell from her eyes. She would often tear up at the edges when she got mad enough but these tears were different. They were full of stress and pent up frustration. She wouldn't think it aloud in her thoughts but in the back of her mind she knew as much as she wanted to deny it.

Her dad's death, the hundreds of lives she watched being extinguished in a ball of fire, these aliens, her inability to go home. Her life had blown up in front of her and she still didn't want to admit it. All of her pent up concerns burst through at the waver in her barrier, though outwardly she would deny them as tears of anger.

Ironhide actually flicked his gaze away breaking their spell and looked almost solemnly back at her. His tight shoulders fell and she could hear the creak of his armor as his entire posture fell.

Optimus frowned, "I will call for Ratchet and ask him to check for any injuries."

"That won't be necessary," Galloway snapped, "Just take her to the _norma_l medical wing. Boy come here."

Galloway snatched up the bawling little kid with disgust and began pulling him out of the building.

Optimus nodded not wanting to anger him further, "Very well."

"Come on Anna let's get you checked over," Will coaxed.

She didn't like the idea of returning to the medical wing but it was better than having to stay in this building any longer. She tried to stand on her own two feet but failed miserably as she fell right back down.

"Come on girl."

Will crouched in front of her and held his hands behind his back inviting her to grab on. Without any reluctance she looped her arms around his neck and he did the rest by hoisting her up.

"What kind of music do you like to listen to," he asked with a smile she couldn't see.

For once his smile faltered when she refused to respond. Will nodded a silent goodbye to the others in the room and walked out into the humid air. He could feel her silent tears staining his shirt as she buried her head into his shoulder to hide her embarrassment from the world.

The stomping of metallic feet caught Will's attention but Anna didn't dare look up.

"Hey…What happened to her?"

"She's not feeling too good so I'm taking her to the Doc's."

"Hatchet," Sideswipe asked surprised.

"Nawh, she just needs some down time is all."

"Will you elaborate," he asked in concern for his human friend.

Will hoisted Anna up a little further with a gentle push, "Later man."

Sideswipe backed off with uncertainty and watched as Will gave the distraught girl a piggyback ride to the infirmary.

Johnson was not pleased when Will walked through the door with Anna but for once he didn't argue or harass either of them as he watched from his office. Will place the young adult on an empty bed and affectionately stroked her hair. She couldn't help but notice even through her sobs that the shard of metal in her pocket was increasing in warmth, if she had pulled the object out she would have noticed it was shining softly.

"Shhh its ok," he cooed as if soothing a baby.

Anna couldn't help but choke on a sob as she buried her head into the pillow and tried her hardest to keep them back. A tighter and tighter ball was clenching in her stomach and she wasn't allowing herself the release it wanted through a good loud and hard cry. She just wouldn't do it with so many people around, it was weak. Only when her breathing had slowed and shaking had stopped did Will retreat and leave her be. He shot a few curious injured onlookers a curt glare that told them louder than words to leave her alone and left her to rest.

* * *

I know, I know Barricade _still _hasn't made his grand appearance. But I had to give the girl some bonding and recuperating time with the Autobots, you see how well that is going. Just wait for one more chapter THEN he'll make his grand entrance. Don't forget to review, review, review!


	8. Chapter 8

**Mockingjay** - a genetically enhanced mocking bird that can repeat any song it hears.

I hope y'all are happy! This is the longest thing I've ever written though a happy accident all the same.

Disclaimer: I do not own transformers, ipod, or any music in this fic

* * *

Whatever ungodly hour she woke up to next was a far cry from comfortable. Anna's head throbbed and her face felt gross from dried tears. The painful knot in her chest had subdued to a throb and she couldn't help but feel disgusted. Once again she had slipped up in front of others, this time in a more embarrassing display than the silence she had once fallen into. She cried in front of Ironhide for god's sake! She was sure the Cybertronian would think of her as weak and incapable, a point she had been trying to prove so hard against.

She smashed her face harder into the pillow and began mentally reciting fictional character bios she had created. Naming off their likes, dislikes, made up past, made up problems, made up strength. When that didn't work she knew the next best thing would force her to open her eyes. With a regretful huff she opened her eyes to find the desired electronic that could turn music to such loud decibels that she wouldn't be able to think.

What surprised her was the table off to the side that was made to flex over her bed was full of items beside the desired iPod. Upon it was a tray full of food from the mess hall and next to it, dare she even think it was there? Yes! a fresh copy of The Hunger Games in all its hardback glory was glancing back at her with its black cover and golden mockingjay pin-art. Tiredly she rubbed the crusted tears from her face and sat up slowly against her aching body. She reached out to grab aholt of the book and stared at its cover wondering if she should try and finish it. The book itself brought back a flood of memories but the story contained in its pages were anything but kittens and rainbows. This book had been on the verge of becoming one of her top favorite pieces of literature when everything happened.

Anna placed her hand over the cover to trace the golden mockingjay and mildly noticed her left arm felt a little airy. She snapped out of her stupor and raised her hand to find the wrappings gone from her wrist. She couldn't help but allow a ghost of a smile to creep through. She had been wanting that itchy thing off for ages.

"Felling any better?"

Anna lowered her hand and looked over to a smiling Victoria who was propped into a sitting position by a mound of pillows in an attempt at comfort. Anna nodded silently in reply.

"Like it?"

Unbeknownst to Anna Victoria had seen the young adult drop her few ruined possessions into the trash bin and when a custodian came to clean them out she had caught a glimpse of the book's title. After talking with Anna for a long while and becoming friends she heard her plight of not being able to find a book. Since her mind was like a steel trap Victoria had asked the next nurse that came in if she could track down a certain book. It couldn't have come at a better time.

"Yes I do…but how did you-"

"That's for me to know and for curious old women to ponder."

Anna rolled her eyes, "Hah, not funny."

Victoria had this funny thing of calling Anna an old woman trapped in a young body. It started the moment she began complaining about her overly girly roommates that were twice her age. Anna didn't consider herself old and grouchy; she just never grew up with giggling groups of girl friends. She was raised by a military man and their weird family friend that was around so much he might as well have been called family.

Victoria rolled back over and closed her eyes with a smile, but Anna could tell she was in pain. Deciding to give the woman her peace and a little to herself she turned her task back to the miniature table. Without pulling the mobile plastic table over the bed she grabbed aholt of the ever sanity saving iPod. She whirled it to the file labeled alternative and turned the volume up as high as her pounding head and sensitive ears could stand and opened the book that was all but calling her now.

She had no idea how long the book had been dragging her into a world full of problems that weren't presently her own when all of a sudden the music stopped. The sudden lack of rhythm snapped her mind back from a dismal scene to the real world rather sharply. Before she could look down and see what had caused the disturbance, thinking maybe she forgot to plug it in, a voice rang out clear as a bell through the headphones.

"_Anna? It's Sideswipe. If you can hear me come outside."_

His voice had really been there and there was no denying it or writing it off as a figment of her rampant imagination. Still, there was no fathomable way he could have contacted her through a device with no internet capabilities as it was. With no way to respond back she simply stared blankly at the iPod screen that showed her music on pause. Not long after having a staring match with the devise and deciding if she should just turn it back on and forget about it or if she should really leave, movement caught the corner of her eye.

She looked up and sure enough her peripheral vision hadn't failed her. Johnson was walking towards her with his usual scowl and a curious white bottle in his right hand. Anna quickly ripped the headphones out of her ears and sat straight in the bed, looking like she was ready to bolt.

"Spending some leisurely time in my med bay I see?"

"I was actually just about to leave."

Anna made to get up but he was there blocking her before she could even set a foot down.

"How are you feeling," he said in a very business doctor tone.

She decided it would be better to no _completely_ lie and said, "I have a headache but I'll live," along with everything else that ached.

As if on some unfathomable queue her stomach growled loudly earning a scowl from the doctor.

"I will give you this aspirin _after_ you eat. Then you can be on your way and not use my medical facilities as a lounge."

"I don' want to be here in the first place," she snapped spitefully.

"Fine then. You don't get any aspirin but you still have to eat the food."

Anna gave a disgusted look at the tray full of strange colored lumps the people here called food and threw a pleading look at the doctor.

"Can't I just take the aspirin and leave?"

"No."

"Come on," she whined.

"I said no."

"Jerk."

She grabbed aholt of the mobile table and drew it close to her all the while scowling at Johnson. Reluctantly she placed the first piece of what was supposed to be a slice of ham, but tasted like some kind of experimental spam, in her mouth. Johnson stood over her with crossed arms until Anna had choked down every scrap of food on the tray before finally relinquishing the pills that she was all too happy to take.

She scrambled from the infirmary in hopes she could find Sideswipe waiting for her outside. She knew what she heard and her brain was sharp enough to make sure she didn't forget it. She left the building at a fast walk and was relieved to feel the aspirin already working on her tired body that wanted a good Saturday to sleep in. Though when she reached the outside Anna couldn't help but feel a little disheartened at not being able to spot the mech anywhere.

She decided to lean against the shade of the building to see if he would come back but she was soon fearing he had given up and left. She could honestly say she was happy at the sight of a fancy Corvette barreling her way at speeds that were defiantly not allowed. He came to a fancy skid a few feet away until he had completed a ninety degree angle and his passenger door popped open in invitation. Anna immediately obliged and he was moving before she could even get the seat belt on.

"You got my message? I wasn't sure if it would really work," he chuckled through the speakers.

Anna nodded to confirm his musings but couldn't really find it in herself to give a genuine smile.

"What's up Sides?"

She felt his frame suddenly seize, as if the seats were tightening like a strong muscle.

"What's wrong," she asked in concern that something had happened in the last few hours.

"Why did you call me that," his voice was defensive and she couldn't for the life of her figure out why and that frustrated her immediately.

"Because Sideswipe is a kind of a long name. You don't mind the nickname do you? You know Anna is just a nickname."

There as a strange silence that followed but she waited patiently and was rewarded when his voice came back through the speakers hesitantly but with much less malice this time.

"It is?"

"Yeah. My real name is Annabelle but I never go by it. Only my parents…call me that."

He had sensed her body giving off several anomalies with his scanners and his voice came back through the speakers sounding suddenly alarmed, "Why not use your real name?"

Anna looked grimly out the window and stared down a parked carrier jet.

"I just never really liked it so I go by Anna. It's easier for people to remember anyway."

There was another short silence and she waited as Sideswipe passed into a building that could have been the size of a shopping mall.

"You can call me Sides if you really want to," he said finally.

"Ok."

They were both silent the rest of the trip but it didn't last very long. Sideswipe came to a stop outside of a massive door and let Anna out. She backed away respectfully and watched in fascination as he transformed then came to bend close to her height, or as close as he could get, she didn't miss the odd twinkle in his optics.

"Sides, what are you doing?"

He grinned broadly and pointed to a brown cloth that was draped over a bunch of small canisters of what she couldn't tell.

"Hide has been a real pain in the aft lately so I devised a little plan to take him down a few notches."

Her ears perked up and she found herself suddenly very interested, she raised an eyebrow in a silent _'oh really? Go on'._

He walked over to the fabric and yanked it off to reveille dozens of human size cans of pink paint, a mischievous smile suddenly crept over Anna's lips.

"No way."

"Way," Sideswipe snickered, "He's recharging in his berth right now like a sparkling. It's the perfect opportunity," he purred.

"Let's do it."

Sideswipe picked up a handful of cans and walked in front of the door. He took a moment to put his finger to his lips in a universal sign. A light clicked on above the door and it slid open willingly. Anna followed behind him and found the room to be boring and military like except for the giant black mech offline upon a metal berth. Sideswipe placed his palm on the ground and she easily climbed on without complaint. He set her on the side of the birth and handed a pale over for her personal use.

He smiled wickedly at her and began popping open all of the cans in his hand while Anna was left to inspect the damage she could do. There was a brush attached to the pale but she was hardly an artist, making it all the better. She could draw pictures on him that would look like they came from a three year old. Too bad she didn't have stickers. She looked to his ominous cannons and considered decorating them with pink clouds just for the irony and the spitefulness she felt of having those things pointed her way once or twice. This would be perfect.

Just before they were done Sideswipe took the last of the pales and dumped all of them over the mech at once, and much to his credit Ironhide didn't even flinch. He quickly grabbed aholt of Anna and quietly slinked out of the room. Once he turned the corner he set her down and transformed so she could get in. Once they were ripping out of the building he let loose a healthy laugh.

"Let's get out of here before he wakes up. Were so dead! You did good girl," he hollered through the speakers through bursts of static and laughter.

Anna couldn't help but smile as he sped around personnel she could see the mouths of moving in displeasure but couldn't hear a word of it. Sideswipe kept picking up speed and didn't stop even as he reached the gate and without a second glance or warning he barreled through the opened high security fence like it was nothing.

"Sides? Where are we going now?"

Anna couldn't feel somewhat glad to see the base disappear behind her.

"You'll see."

She didn't ask anymore but already her mind was trying to piece together what he could be possibly thinking of doing that could top dousing Ironhide in pink paint.

Sideswipe turned on his radio and flipped it to a popular mix station via XM satellite. He always played music whenever they were together now. At first he had no idea how much liked the earth beats whenever he gave her the small music device as an apologie but now he rarely ever saw her without the thing stuck in her ears. Out of curiosity one time he hacked into the iPod wirelessly to read the stats and was surprised to find them all over the place. Her favorites were obviously played the most but he was surprised at how wide her spectrum was compared to most humans.

After he got to know her a little better she let on how much she loved music and that was really the grounds that started their small friendship. She would have really liked Jazz.

Sideswipe drove along a stretch of road that paralleled the ocean and Anna couldn't help but look out over the glossy water. It was so much bluer and clear than she was used to. In Texas the only beach was Galveston and that water was a nasty brown and she didn't trust half of the stuff floating around in it. Even the sights of the beautiful ocean and white beachside slipping by couldn't hold her attention for long.

The music lulled her thoughts into their rhythm and the beach vanished before her eyes and her surroundings were replaced by her old room back home. Kaden laid stretched out on the bed with her and a noisy neighbor was banging on the front door yelling at her to turn the stereo down. Next to her was her favorite stuffed animal and on her walls were glued together puzzles and a dream catcher was hung over the bed frame.

Suddenly 'bad influence' by Pink blasted her eardrums nearly out of her head and her body jumped in surprise,

"_Wind me up and watch me go, where she stops nobody knows…"_ it belted out.

She snapped her eyes to the dash board and gave it a mirthful glare until the volume finally lowered.

"What was that for," she snarled.

Sideswipe instantly noticed her rise in heart rate, "I didn't mean to scare you. But I called your name sever times and you wouldn't respond."

Her anger dissolved as suddenly as it had come on and she relaxed into the seat.

"Sorry Sides I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"Just thinking how nice it would be to have a shower with a little water pressure. And wondering what Kaden's doing right now."

"Who's Kaden?"

"My Doberman. I hope Jack is feeding him the stuff he likes. They seem to get along all right," she paused then added, "He's my family friend and neighbor."

"Oh. I'm sure they'll let you out of here soon enough."

He turned the music back onto an upbeat song and matched the speed limit. Anna wasn't very much of a talker and she was glad Sideswipe respected that. He didn't push her into awkward conversations and it was nice to just sit and think. She couldn't believe after everything that happened she was able to befriend him so quickly. He seemed to willingly push the friendship along by meeting her daily and he loved to tell stories of how he pranked others with his twin that she had yet to see. She didn't miss the few hollow laughs or the lapse into false jovialness that were becoming more and more common though. Something was really bothering him and she could tell.

After two hours of driving Sideswipe crashed to a stop, shaking Anna from her comfortable spot at the window seal where she had been letting the hot sun warm her.

"What the heck Sides!"

His door popped open and his easy voice flowed through the speakers, "I want you to wait here."

She looked across at the steering wheel and pretended it was his face, "Wait here for what? For the vultures to come find my crispy flesh?"

She heard a snort and felt his frame shake, "You're not going to fry. I'll just be gone for a few minutes."

"Fine," she huffed and bent out of him to stand on the side of the road.

"I'll be right back just wait," he said in a voice that was giddy with excitement.

Anna watched him tear down the road and hopped she wasn't about to become his next prank. Maybe he was deciding to leave her out in the hot sun for hours so she could get another sunburn and come back saying he lost track of time. Or one of the military men would see here wondering around the beach and _kindly_ escort her back to the base.

She kicked the sand at the side of the road for a while and impatiently shifted from foot to foot until she was pacing a little in place. She could be a patient person but she could once again feel the sun beginning to burn her flesh. Just as she was thinking of turning around and making the long hike back she heard the distinct sound of a powerful engine gaining speed. She looked up to squint her eyes at a red dot that was racing towards her. The closer it got the more obvious its special features became until she wasn't sure if what she was seeing was real or heat induced. But there was no mistaking when a gorgeous candy apple red 08' Lamborghini stopped on a dime and popped open the driver door unassisted.

"No way…"

"You like it?"

"O my God Sides I love it! How-"

"I found out there was a manufacturer on this island and I've been itching to scan one of these beauties for a while now. But I waited so I could take someone who would appreciate it."

Anna slid into the car that cost more than she could ever hope to make in a lifetime and began tracing over all the interior's effects and took it in as if she were eating chocolate for the first time.

"Holy cow. You have no idea how jealous I am right now."

She heard and felt him rumble in pleasure, "Want to take it for a spin?"

She looked at his Autobot engraved steering wheeling uncertainly, "You mean drive you?"

"What's the worst that could happen?"

Horribly, horribly ironic words that she knew was an all too tall tale sign in writings that a series of unfortunate events were about to unfold. But this wasn't a story and she liked fast cars. With a mischievous grin she grabbed aholt of the wheel and got a nice feel of the pedals.

"Ok Side's let's see what you've got."

His idle engine gave a powerful rumble and she tapped her foot on the gas. She couldn't describe how good it felt to be shoved back in the seat as the powerful car accelerated and she could feel the adrenaline hammering her heart into her chest. In the distance Anna could see a fancy sports car but she couldn't distinguish what kind of model it was. Being in the middle of nowhere on an island, there was a good chance it was some billionaire taking his toy for a joy ride.

As they approached Sideswipe slowly applied the brakes so by the time they caught up he was driving side by side to the custom car. As if to justify her thoughts and older man was sitting in the vehicle and looked over at them and she could just see his jaw dropping. She couldn't help but smile wildly knowing how ridiculous she looked. A young woman, a barely high school graduate, in a Lamborghini; the thought made her shiver with excitement.

Sideswipe tapped the accelerator allowing himself to lurch forwards and fall back several times indicating to the man that he wanted to race and Anna couldn't help but agree more. She used her feminine physique to their advantage and flipped her hair back behind her and let the loose brown curls fall back over her shoulder giving a sly wink. The man in the other vehicle gave a smirk and slammed on his accelerator to screech away.

Sideswipe's radio turned on nearly full blast and began playing 'Pump It' by the Black Eyed Peas before he followed suit with a sharp acceleration that left black marks on the road. They drove side by side and Anna couldn't help but grin like an idiot as the flashing scenery became nothing but a blur. The poor custom car tried to accelerate past them but Sideswipe floored it and shot past the disgruntled man that slowly began to fade away. Anna couldn't help but laugh hysterically as Sideswipe's insane speed made it hard to even breathe.

After a few minutes he did finally slow to around sixty and turned the radio down.

"Did you see the look on that guys face?"

"Are you kidding?! I couldn't see anything but one big blob of swirling colors," she breathed through her laughter.

She could hear the proud bravado in voice as he declared, "No earth vehicle can beat me speed!"

"And I wouldn't doubt it! Sides that was crazy! What did the speedometer hit?"

"By earth terms three hundred miles per hour."

"Holy crap no wonder he couldn't keep up," she shouted in giddy glee and hyped up on adrenaline.

Their chorusing laughter was cut short however by a burst of static that had Sideswipe falling silent and Anna followed his example. The voice that came through it was obviously not Sideswipe's and very clearly Ratchets.

"Where are you," he deadpanned.

"Around," Sideswipe answered casually.

"You are in serious trouble Sideswipe. Get your aft back here NOW."

"Whatever you say Hatchet," he snerked disrespectfully.

Anna looked at the speakers strangely and tapped the mesh hopping it might hurt Ratchet's 'ears' or something and the sound that came through did indeed sound like a microphone being tapped.

"What in the pit was that?"

"Um," Sideswipe was about to come up with a good excuse when Anna couldn't help but let a loud snicker bounce from her adrenaline shaking lips.

"Sideswipe! Why is there a human in your cab," he was nothing short of furious.

"She looked like she could use a little cheering up."

"She? Primus… Just get your aft back here first and _then_ I'll deal with you. That is if Ironhide doesn't beat me to it."

As if on cue both Anna and Sideswipe had to cringe as a loud bellow rang in through the speakers.

"WHERE IS THAT LITTLE FRAGGER?!!"

Sideswipe shut off the comm. and blocked any more incoming signals.

"We are so dead," Anna concluded.

"Yep. We sure are."

Sideswipe's burst of speed put them ahead by nearly an hour and they were rolling through the heavy military gates soon after. Anna couldn't help but feel a creeping dread as they came closer to the massive compound and were swallowed up by the ever massive doors. Sideswipe let her out and transformed so he could transfer Anna to his palm and stealthily sneaked his way around every corner like a thief on a mission.

"THERE YOU ARE YOU SLAGGING LITTLE GLITCH!"

Anna clinged to Sideswipe's large red finger and tried to make herself invisible behind it as a very large, very angry, very black and pink Ironhide came around the corner with his cannons screaming with charged plasma. Anna couldn't stop the giggle from escaping her mouth and caught the infuriated mech's full attention in turn.

"YOU! I KNEW you were going to be nothing but trouble the moment you began hanging out with Sideswipe. I'll rip both of you a new processor!"

"Run!"

Anna didn't have to tell him twice as Sideswipe tore down the hallway like Unicron himself was after them. Anna hung on for all she was worth and prayed she wasn't about to go flying. His running threw her up and down allowing her head and arms to bang painfully against his armor.

Ironhide had no prayer of catching up to the speedy mech but the old bot had a few tricks up his sleeve. An emergency door began dropping from the ceiling and Anna looked up to it in dismay.

"We'll never make it!"

"Hang on!"

Sideswipe dived under the door and narrowly missed getting his head looped off only to find himself trapped by another emergency door that was already shut, boxing them in.

Sideswipe cursed, "Slag."

"Oh, trust me. You punks are MORE than slaged," The door Sideswipe had nearly been beheaded from opened slowly to reveille Ironhide standing in all his splattered pink and black glory with his pink cloud cannons pointed strait at them.

Well he didn't kill them but that fate might have been better. Before Ironhide could blow their heads off Ratchet stepped in knocking sense into both of the mechs with a hard wrench. For their first punishment given by the Weapon Specialist himself and after some special cohesion convinced the human military to allow him the privilege of punishing Anna, that didn't involve their deaths was cleaning every miniscule spec of pink paint off his armor. To do so he was currently in his alt mode and covered in slimy soap.

"Scrub harder it's not going to come off that way."

Anna scowled and scrubbed harder into the driver side door wrinkling her wet fingers further.

"What's wrong Hide? I thought it was an improvement," Sideswipe chuckled.

"Can it before I add another punishment to your list. You do know you'll still have a long list of punishments. Starting with patrol first thing in the morning, double shift."

"They can't make me do anything I haven't done before," he chortled.

"What do you mean," Anna asked while scrubbing as hard as she could hopping in vain that it gave Ironhide some form of discomfort.

"Oh you know. Joors of patrols, deca-cycles in the brig, sorting mind numbing files for Prowl. You name it I've done them all."

She never had been much of a trouble maker before but somehow Sideswipe managed to bring the worst out in her.

"Oh really," she grinned and chucked her sponge at the bent over mech and smiled smugly as it made a wet slap against his arm.

"Oh you did not just do that."

Anna squeaked and raced around Ironhide just before getting smacked by a dangerously flying sponge, instead it smacked into Ironhide's hood.

"Knock it off," he rumbled.

Anna used Ironhide like a pathetic shield and scooted around his dripping wet frame as Sideswipe tried to circle around and chuck another sponge her way.

"I said knock it off!"

Ironhide shifted and transformed only to have a sponge plastered to his face as Sideswipe made a last ditch effort to hit Anna.

"Slag…"

"Sideswipe!"

Ironhide grabbed the sponge and whipped it off his flaring face; he took the object and chunked it at the red Lamborghini. Anna couldn't help but feel the poor guy was outgunned so she took up another sponge and threw it for all she was worth at Ironhide's backside. He whipped around and she received the evil eye next.

"That's it human. You've over stayed your welcome," he warned darkly.

She grabbed another handful of sponges and took off running across the slippery floor as the bulky mech began charging for her. She chucked a few of her scant ammo at him and only managed to make contact twice. For a bulky thing his size he easily out maneuvered her poor missiles. She suddenly got an idea that had her retracing her steps until she was running strait for the mech's crashing feet. Using the wet floor and her small size to her advantage she dropped to her back and slid under his legs and tried to chunk her last piece of ammo at the weapon specialist. It bounced off one of his cannons and slid to the floor with a wet slap.

"Why you little."

Ironhide spun around and tried to grab at the scrambling girl but she easily snaked away from his grasp.

"Anna run!"

Sideswipes warning came too late as Ironhide slammed a massive foot in her way and she found herself staring down his uncharged weapons.

"The first lesson on the battle field runt. NEVER run out of ammo."

Anna scrunched up her nose and crossed her arms over her sopping chest in defiant defeat that was made worse when a rain of soapy water and spongers buried her from above.

"What the heck Sides! That wasn't fair!"

"Battle isn't fair," he smirked.

Ironhide let out an amused chuckle then shifted back into his alt mode.

"Now finish what you started before I add having every floor in the base cleaned."

Anna picked up a sponge and dodged around Sideswipe so she could be on the other side of Ironhide and continued scrubbing. Maybe the crusty old mech wasn't so bad, but that didn't mean she didn't have to leave one small spec of pink where he was sure to not see it.

* * *

Sideswipe is really thinking on a deeper level than I'm currently portraying, I don't want to dive too deep into his immediate conscious. You guys are smart enough to fill in the gaps anyway.

And really The Hunger Games is an AMAZING book. If you haven't read it I highly recommend you do with its sequel Catching Fire. R&R!


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own transformers

* * *

Anna was deep into one of the most blissful sleeps she had experienced in a long time when a blaring alarm started her with a jolt. She was too disoriented with sleep to rein her conscious back to the real world when one of her room mates began shrieking in displeasure, "What the heck! Don't they know what time it is?!"

In all reality it was nearly ten in the morning.

Anna pulled out of her foggy mind induced by sleep and registered the ear splitting alarm that was sounding in the base. With her mind was so muddled she nearly had a panic attack right there. Her mind was thrown back to the last time he heard such a shrieking alarm and the sinking ships. Hyperventilation struck her for only a moment though since the adrenaline snapped her to the acutely different surroundings. She jumped out of bed and began to wildly pull a pair of clothes on as the roommate closest to the door opened it. NEST personnel were scrambling from their bunks as well and were currently running down the halls while trying to finish putting on their articles. Shoe laces flying and everything as a few of them hopped on one foot down the hall.

The woman, a former maintenance worker, grabbed the sleeve of a passing soldier.

"What's going on?!"

"I don't know ma'am but I suggest you stay in your room."

Suddenly Anna was able to see the giddy thirty six year old turn into a stern woman, "Look. You tell me what's going on right now or so help me-"

"I'm sorry ma'am but I really have to go."

She was practically fuming when he tugged away but the woman released him so he could disappear down the hall.

Anna finished straightening herself out to be at least decent and pushed past the woman into the hall. The maintenance worker protested for the young woman to come back but Anna wasn't just going to sit in the room and wait in the anxious fear that had her heart hammering against her chest. She plastered herself against the wall and waited for the majority of the soldiers to pass by so she could follow from the rear. They jogged out onto the concrete that made up the runway and they all paused to raise their guns at an approaching police car.

A white Charger with police decals from a district she didn't recognize pulled through the main gate _towing_ a Saleen mustang. It halted at the center of the soldier's trained guns and decided to sit idle. The N.E.S.T. soldiers pulled their rifles and semiautomatics to their mark and each one placed their finger on the trigger but before any of them could shoot three pink motorcycles can crashing through the gates and whipped in a violent circle around the two police cars before each one transformed into a different robot. A couple rounds went off in shock but they were lost to the sky somewhere and the rest of the group remained silent.

"Don't shoot! He's an Autobot," One of the three nearly identical robots hissed in a very feminine tone.

The blaring horn of a semi announced Optimus' arrival causing soldiers to move out of his was and he was quick to transform before the Charger, hot on his heals was the secretary of defense himself tailed by the other Autobot's rolling in at a swift pace. A loud chink caused the Charger's back end to lift up as the Mustang's front bumper crashed to the ground upon being released. In seconds the Charger was transforming until a very sharp and disgruntled looking Autobot stood in its place.

"Optimus sir, I have brought Barricade and he is currently locked into status but for how much longer I don't know. He woke up several times along the way," he looked tired and worn out but more weary than anything.

"Is there a reason I was not informed of this! I wasn't told another Autobot had landed let alone…Is that the rogue Decepticon?!"

Galloway came onto the scene barking his displeasure when the site of the Mustang sent him into an outright uproar, one that was perfectly acceptable this time. Anna felt a ton of bricks drop in her stomach at the mention of a Decepticon. The mustang that was merely a few feet from her was one of the creatures that had destroyed her world. Hesitantly she backed up and hoped to slink back through the crowd.

"Galloway calm yourself. We were informed just the other night of their incoming arrival," Keller tried to be reasonable with the man, smirking inwardly at the same time.

Galloway reeled on the secretary, "Are you daft! I wasn't told of this! I am the superior here!"

"Enough talk! Let me blast the punk ass Decepticon and be rid of him," Ironhide bellowed over the hysterical Galloway.

Optimus halted the trigger happy soldier, "Ironhide stand down."

"Aww come on boss man," Sideswipe whined, "For once I agree with Hide let's just blast 'em."

"Sir," the white mech began and waited for the lapse in conversation to signal he was permitted to continue, "He may have vital information and the logical action would to be keep him restrained and kept for further interrogation."

Optimus seemed to take the Charger's words seriously before nodding his head in approval.

"Move him to the brig for the time being then we shall discuss further actions from there."

"Understood."

If they had finished their conversation a nano-click faster the white mech might not have been caught off guard but it was enough time for the Mustang to shudder and transform into a black and white Cybertronian that knocked the new comer several feet with a well aimed fist before he had even halfway turned around.

"Fire," Ironhide shouted.

On cue every soldier there began firing on the Decepticon and all they seemed to do was anger the creature further. It rolled away from the Autobots trying to assault it and took a few of them out with its sweeping feet. Prowl recovered from the punch quickly and brought a short knife down on the mech and serrated a piece of armor from the Con that clattered away. The Decepticon screamed in rage and threw itself at the Autobot and began grappling with the military strategist's armguard. Prowl tried to shoot the Decepticon in the face with a blaster in his free hand but his shot missed when the twins barrel rolled onto their six in a tangle of curses and insults. Prowl and the Decepticon rolled to their feet and glared dangerously at each other. The Saleen pulled the tire on his arm apart to reveal a deadly saw like weapon with several rotating blades.

Time seemed to stall as its eyes swept out over the humans and Anna felt her heart stop cold when its blood red eyes came to rest on her. She didn't know if the yellow shirt she wore amongst a dull green sea of uniforms was what made him single her out but she wish it would have turned its attentions elsewhere. Her left hand slipped into her pocket and found the familiar metal object that pulsed with comforting warmth but even its familiarity couldn't unseize the fear that kept her planted and wide-eyed. The robot barred its razor-sharp teeth and brought its clawed hand into the air and then it leapt at her with a feral snarl.

It was stupid and pathetic but she found her fight or flight reaction stunted once again and the only coherent thought she could process was she was going to die as she threw her fist still clinching the shard and her free hand in front of her like a weak shield. The military soldiers scrambled out of the way as the livid Deception lunged for her but they were halted in their retreat when a blinding blue light shone engulfing the surrounding area. Her hand burned like the devil and strange symbols began flashing before her blinded vision; voices whispered to her at a lightning speed in a strange dialect. Just before she thought her head would explode from receiving the garbled information her mind overloaded and everything went blank.

Her mind was groggy with sleep and it took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the blinding light above. In a vain attempt to block it she lifted an arm over her vision and flexed her hand out for more surface area then her heart went cold and she felt a crawling sensation shiver through her skin. The light shone through her flexing fingers and strange letters began dancing in front of her vision, wavering as her eyes twitched involuntarily. In an attempt to stop the stream of glitching symbols she squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed them in discomfort.

"Finally up are we? Mind explaining yourself young lady?"

Anna jumped in surprise but held herself when she noticed Ratchet staring at her with crossed arms. He was standing over the human laying in his specially designed shelf and was scanning her bio signs.

"What?"

She jolted to a sitting position and winced at the searing pain that ripped through her hand. She cradled it to her chest and whimpered trying to will the pain down. She didn't want to see the damage, but then again she did, damn human curiosity.

Her hand was…silver? Anna gripped her wrist and stared into her palm. It looked like someone had burned a piece of metal into her flesh, to be more precise it seemed as if the shard she had always carried around was flattened and charred into her palm. It was made from the same metallic silver as she always remembered and the broken strange symbols were imprinted on the slick surface. To see if her deductions were correct Anna reached her good hand into her jeans pocket and swallowed a hard lump when there was nothing there.

"Why don't you explain to me why I have a piece of metal in my hand? It really friggin hurts."

To emphasize her point she stuck her hand towards him and flexed her fingers back, the small motion caused a ripping sensation forcing her to withdraw and cradle it again.

"Ow."

Her hand hurt like hell and the acute pain brought her to notice the lack of it through the rest of her body. The soreness brought on by military bunk beds and rough handling had completely faded and she felt more alert than she had in ages.

Ratchet's optics softened but she could still see the hardness in his posture. He could see the woman was suffering and the medic side of him sympathized but his logical side was still angry that this human was withholding something so important. And also the fact that she had it at all.

"You don't have an inkling of what that is," he asked angrily.

She jostled with the idea of telling him about the piece of metal and the same questions warred in her brain the same way they had for the past week or more. Did her dad intend for the Autobots to receive it, if so she was for lack of a better word screwed. Or was she supposed to keep it away from them? She didn't want to betray her dad but then again if she just told him where it had come from it wouldn't matter either way. It was charred into her hand beyond use and her dad was safe…that the information would never affect his job or lifestyle. Yes that seemed logical enough.

Ratchet cleared his vocals in impatience as she decided on her answer, "Well. It used to be a piece of metal in my pocket."

"Where did you acquire it," he growled.

She puffed up and scowled at the towering medic, "My dad gave it to me before the ship sunk. I don't know what the heck it's for but the last thing he ever told me was to keep it safe. The stupid thing is burned into my hand and he's dead so there's nothing you can do about it!"

Angry tears began pricking the corners of her eyes but she refused to let any spill. His posture tightened further and his optics became stern. Loses were a common fact in the war but she was still so young and obviously the human girl had no idea what she was carrying. But he couldn't ever knock out the possibility of betrayal.

"No there is nothing that can be done about that but you should know about the object you carry. It may be trapped in your flesh but it is by no means useless."

Anna opened her mouth to object but the mech started before she could, "That shard of metal is one of the few pieces left of the Allspark. It was an object that brought life to our race and subsequently brought our war to your planet."

Ratchet had to remove it, who knew what the energy from the Allspark could do to a human. The trauma sight was severe and painfully inflamed; it would take heavy anesthetics and careful tweezers coupled with scissors to get it all out. Some of the shards were peppered around a large central piece telling him it had likely liquefied and burned through her skin, and according to his scanners a few pieces were dangerously deep.

"You're not thinking of prying it out are you," she asked cautiously.

"That may very likely be the case."

She watched his optics carefully looking for any form of deception to be betrayed by his stance or the flick of his features.

"What will you do with it then? You said it wasn't useless."

The medic furrowed his brow, "I will have to speak with Optimus before I do anything further. For now I can only treat the pain and prevent the area from becoming infected."

She wanted to berate him for avoiding the question and was about to ask again in a tactful manner when the CMO turned away. She clamped her mouth shut and tried to hide the seething rage beginning to build behind her eyes. Ratchet stepped back transformed into his altmode that disappeared behind the railing and massive shelf that divided the human section from the rest of the Autobot's med bay.

Anna rolled over and placed a frustrated arm over her eyes to act as a shield from the intense overhead lights. So that damnitable piece of metal was a part of something that gave this alien race life and brought their war to her planet, ending in her father's death and her current predicament. She could be enjoying her first week of college right now if it weren't for that _thing _charred into her hand. She would pry it out of her palm herself if that was the only way it was coming out. She wouldn't let the alien medic take it out with his own torcher devises. Her dad probably wanted her to keep it from them so they couldn't continue their race. Make it impossible for them to go on destroying lives chunk by chunk.

She stopped herself short and rewound her thoughts thinking of how morbidly fast they had begun to spiral down a single minded slope. She was better than that she knew, as a writer, an observer; she was able to see things from all different angles. The Transformers weren't all bad, it was just the Decepticons. The Autobots were alright even if a few of them were grouchier than her late dad. But that led her down another path of thought.

What were the Decepticons really after? What did they stand for? Everyone had a story that was deeper than what it seemed on the outside. She suddenly found herself wanting to learn more about who these Decepticons were. Things always appear more menacing and frightening when you know next to nothing about them. Tear away the imagination and leave the facts and all future actions will seem so natural it's no longer frightening but simply as it is. She wasn't sure if she was really making any sense to herself at this point. Her mind felt hyped up like it was stuck on what could only be described as some sort of buzz though she had never been drunk in her life.

Gentle human hands grabbed the damaged arm lying across her stomach and began wrapping her hand in a cushion of padding and gauze. She hissed in pain as the bandages touched her marred flesh and tried not to rip her arm out of the hands that were helping her. Every small movement irritated the burning area even though she could feel a cool gel being applied along the way. Once they were finished her arm was rested gently back across her stomach and her ridged position was able to relax knowing the area wasn't going to be touched again.

"I cannot do anything further until I speak with Optimus so for the time being my orders are for you to rest. I'll give you something to ease the pain and help you sleep."

Anna felt a small prick in her arm but she didn't object. The voice sounded like Ratchet but there was no way it could be, it had lost all echoes of computerized sounds. Not being able to resist her curiosity Anna removed her arm and squinted her eyes against the light to try and make out the human figure above. His head moved over the light blocking some of it out making it easier to see his features. It was defiantly someone she didn't know. His features oddly reminded her of House from that TV program except this guy's hair was a shot blond and he was obviously not crippled. Anna's brow furled in confusion causing the man to sigh the same grouchy way as Ratchet.

"Ratchet," she asked almost drunkenly.

The medic couldn't help but pick at the odd soft flesh of his arms, "In away. This is just a hologram so I can do delicate work more easily. Now rest."

She didn't want to think of how something like that was possible, what the mechanics were, how a hologram could touch her or even feel so real. Her mind was becoming too muddled by the drug he had given her to think much of anything and she easily succumbed to it.

* * *

_-The Brig-_

Barricade knew it was only a matter of time before he wound up in the Autobot's brig. The two short years of hiding had proved to be nothing but a fruitlessly never ending stall of boredom. No one would come looking for him and there was only so long the elite hunter could stay under the radar and hidden. Where he was so used to hearing bickering Decepticons the radio silence was maddening to his processors and once or twice he even wished Frenzy hadn't been killed. As much as he hated working with the little glitch he could at least keep him occupied with his never ceasing jabbering and crude humor he had picked up from humans. Once or twice when he first arrived Frenzy had goaded him into joining cop chases only to deflect the human law enforcements and let the running suspect slip away. The mini bot would flip the police offers off as they sped after the criminal themselves and forced the vehicle to flip or stall with a well aimed cannon or harsh tap to the bumper before speeding away.

He knew the Decepticons would be back. With Optimus prime taking up a base on this mud ball of a planet Starscream was sure to reemerge with a small army of his own. He was never used to waiting patiently let alone being the one hunted. He was a bounty hunter and always went looking for his prey on his own terms, never the other way around. The day Barricade did finally receive a transmission from the egotistical seeker he was nothing short of appalled to hear his screeching voice come through the encoded Decepticon airways. He was announcing to any Decepticon on the planet that could hear his decloration of newfound leadership that was filled with pure, audio shorting arrogance. Each Decepticon sent a signal to their new 'leader' and Barricade was in the process of grudgingly sending his own when a painful blast to his side sent cut the transmission short.

In haste he sent all of his scanners in a wide sweep of the field he was currently idling in and cursed himself at the sight of a white Autobot. It pulled out a knife and began to charge when Barricade transformed and he was barely able to fend him off. Living off of nothing but rechargeable fuel cells replenished by the sun, his systems were far beyond sluggish without any proper energon in over two years. He also cursed himself for letting his guard down and letting the abomination sneak up on him. How had he even been found? Even if his guard was down he still made it a point to continually mask his signal. Possibly Starscream's communication had alerted any Autobot's nearby, but even that seemed unlikely.

The Autobot he had identified as Prowl was able to take him down in his weakened state and forced him into status. He woke up periodically as the cursed military tactician towed his acing alt form by the front of his bumper and just before he could become fully conscious he would receive a nasty shock through a set of connected cables that sent him immediately offline again. After he had gone through this cycle several times he once woke up to see three identical, but differently colored motorcycles flanking his rear, no doubt another Autobot, he decided before the familiar shock came back through his systems. He didn't know how much more abuse his internal systems could take. The shocks were beginning to fry some of his delicate circuitry.

The moment he awoke on the base he was acutely aware of several Autobots in the area including Optimus Prime. Prowl was completely disconnected to him and standing before his leader and Barricade didn't waste his chance to transform. Before any of the bots could react he was standing on his own two feet and was finally able to take his anger out on the white Autobot. He felt an immense sense of pleasure as the tactician's plates cracked under his punch as the Charger went flying across the airstrip. He dodged the Autobot's attacks as the human's pathetic excuse for weapons bounced off his armor. Prowl managed to throw his Autobot scum self back into my path and managed to slice through a part of my armor, it didn't hurt and it would grow back so it didn't slow him down in the least.

Barricade broke away from the fight and stood in a defensively crouched position. He was fighting a losing battle and he knew it. There was no way he would make it out of this alive. An angry growl crept through his vocals and he wanted to destroy something, kill someone that would cripple the Autobots greatly. Then he saw a bright flash of yellow to the right of his optic. Yes, he could destroy a few of the humans they were so fondly of. Especially whoever was clothed in the same irritating colors of that insufferable scout Bumblebee. He could at least pretend the human was the youngling Autobot as he picked its limbs off piece by piece with his shredding claws.

He turned his line of sight to the cluster of humans and zoomed in on the one in bright yellow clothing. It was a human that sickeningly reminded him of Mikaela Banes. He could see the fear creeping into her brown eyes making him produce a wicked grin. Yes he could take his anger out on this human quite nicely. With a feral snarl he lunged for the girl but was never able to make contact.

He stopped short when a burst of blue light emitted from the human's outstretched hands and corrupted his vision into nothing but streams of static. A sudden ripping sensation purged his chest causing him to fall over with a yowl of agony. It felt like his very spark was being ripped in half and as if that wasn't enough, glitching cybertronian letters began flickering in his malfunctioning optics in garbled sentences that made absolutely no sense to him, words like _connection_ and _war_. Dates flashed before his optics, ones he knew were associated with some of the most horrific events in Cybertronian history. Voices whispering at an incomprehensible level teased his audios and he could hear faint mummers. Just before he felt like his CPU and spark were about to explode his systems overloaded and he offlined with his programmed safety.

Now here he was a prisoner of war with every part of his systems aching and fire shooting through his nervous system. The Autobot's brig was pristine and obviously newly built. Pink bars of highly charged energy were the only things keeping him from ripping apart the glaring Ironhide on the other side. He returned the vicious glare with an anger filled one of his own. He could still hear and feel a faint echo from the assault of corrupt data and it made his processors ache not to mention his spark. What had that filthy human glitch done to him?


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own transformers**

* * *

Optimus' office was anything but organized at the moment. He had electronic paperwork figuratively stacked up higher than the empire state building. Not mentioning the mounds of usual paper work he received from the human government regarding Decepticon sightings. But today he had a whole new slew of alerts, threats, and diplomatic issues arisen from the recent incident thrown into his ever increasing pile.

Barricade and Prowl's arrival had stirred a few of the higher-ups enough to bristle even a few private branches of the military. Many of the humans were angry that they weren't able to detect Prowl breaching the atmosphere and blamed the Autobots for interfering with sensitive equipment. In all likely-hood an electric storm in Earth's atmosphere was the real culprit.

The government wasn't aware his second in command had landed upon on terra firma until the tactical officer had trekked across the U.S. country side to their base and that only made matters even worse. The more he read on the more of a processor ache he received knowing he would have to reply to every single one and appeal personally to a few. But it would all be worth it if his secrecy had kept Decepticons on the down low of his current position. Especially when Prowl radioed in saying he had Barricade Optimus knew keeping the Decepticons ignorant would be crucial.

Those were all matters he could deal with in good time but a more pressing matter was the woman named Annabelle Swift who had fallen into their care because of a Decepticon incident that was directly involved with Megatron. Not only was she one of the few key witnesses to his return but by some twisted fate she had been carrying a part of the Allspark on her person right under all of their proverbial noses. It only took Barricade and a dangerous explosion of energy to reveal it.

The door to his office swung open with a hiss alerting him to another mech's presence. He placed a data pad down on the desk and rubbed his nose from a human habit he picked up and knew what he was about to hear wouldn't be good or light in content.

Ratchet was looking more disgruntled than usual sending Optimus on full alert, "You were right Optimus. It was the Allspark's energy that had been released. It appears the female was carrying a shard of the cube on her person and by some phenomenon it appears to have liquefied and burned into the flesh of her left hand. At the moment she is stable but for how long I don't know."

Optimus nodded and silently thanked for small favors, "Do we know how she came in possession of it or if there were more shards?"

Ratchet shook his head, "She claims her male parental unit gave it to her back on the U.S. carrier and was told nothing more than to keep it safe. It could be a lie but I wasn't getting anything else out of her due to a distable emotional backlash."

"Distable," Optimus asked alarmed.

He noted the way Ratchet's shoulders sank and could hear the slip of his professional tone, "Her parental unit died on the ship and speaking of it brought back painful memories. You know how humans react to loss and violation of the things close to them. Not to mention she is still young even for her species and humans are particularly attached to their creators."

The great Autobot leader's eyes sunk to his overflowing data pad still flickering with incoming emails, "They are a young and primitive species compared to us but they feel the pains of loosing loved ones just as we do. Give her time to heal and she may open up and tell us everything on her own."

Ratchet's systems hissed a great sigh, "You may be right Prime but we do not have the time to wait for broken sparks to mend."

Optimus flicked his vision to Ratchet and the many millennia of war could be seen etched into the leader's facial plates. He knew all too well that war waited for no mech.

"I will speak to the female myself when she is well enough. For now just concentrate on her health and monitor the effects of the Allspark on her body."

"Already on it. If anything goes haywire I'll be the first to know," Ratchet smiled grimly and tapped his cranial, "She's out like a protoform under a light sedative and I have my equipment monitoring her systems. I can give you the access codes if you want to look over her reactions yourself."

Usually it was against his honor as a medic to give up any private medical information but there was always an exception to the rules and no one knew the Allspark better than Bumblebee or Optimus Prime himself. Anything that could help his patients was always worth bending the rules for.

"That could be beneficial. Thank you."

Optimus received the codes wirelessly and was able to link to the systems connected to the human. He wasn't particularly up to date on the human's systems but her heart rate sounded much too fast for one under a drug induced sleep. As for the other systems he would have to add reading up on human anatomy to his long list of to do's.

"Her systems seem…irregular," he said unsure in his naivtivity.

Ratchet didn't seem fazed by his hesitance and instead explained the readings, "All of her systems are working harder than they would under normal circumstances. The inflammation around the infected area has caused all of her systems to react as if fighting off an infection. I fear that if we do not remove the Allspark pieces her body will continue to deteriorate trying to fight off something that isn't degradable. The human body is notorious for running itself down when rejecting a foreign object that it can't get rid of."

Optimus rolled the information around in his processors before coming to the best solution for the present predicament, "I agree it should be removed but I would like to speak with the female before the operation if she is well enough."

"I'll let you know sir."

* * *

No matter how strong the drugs had been Anna concluded they weren't strong enough. She guessed the drug had let her rest for a little while but now she found herself waking nearly suddenly and feeling very giddy at the same time as if she had just had a fresh cup of coffee, and that's a lot coming from someone who was caffeine intolerant.

Her eyes blinked rapidly trying to take in the sight of a giant Sideswipe's head hovering over her body with a look of possibly concern. It was still hard to tell their emotions by just their faces but by ways of deduction it was a possible emotion at the moment. She shook her head in a rapid snap to try and release some of the pent up energy and growing nervousness she was feeling.

"Sup up Sides," she asked lightly.

His metallic lips curved into a smile, "Just checking on the squirt."

Anna groaned and would have socked him if only his face were a little closer, "Not you too. What is it with ya'll and the short comments."

"Well you humans are," he pointed out in all seriousness.

"Is she awake? Let me see!"

There was no mistaking that high pitched voice that rang through the room and it made Anna inwardly groan.

"Hold your horses little man," Sideswipe was one of the only Autobots that had willingly picked up on a bit of our lingo. It was a bit funny and irritating at the same time to explain every innuendo to the older bots who didn't have a clue.

The red Lamborghini bent down out of sight and reemerged with Cooper sitting restlessly in his hand.

"Quit squirming or I'm going to drop you," Sideswipe warned.

Cooper ignored him and as soon as Sideswipe's palm was upon the shelf the child slid from his hand and came at Anna like a heat seeking missile. She sat up quickly before the little monster pounced on her bed and grabbed aholt of him with her good hand before they could smack foreheads.

"Whoa there Cowboy where's the fire?"

Cooper held his hands up like a pair of pistols and began making _bam bam_ noises with his mouth trying to imitate a cowboy. Anna rolled her eyes and reached forwards to tickle his sides. He laughed hysterically and squirmed like an earthworm under her onslaught.

"Who's the big tough Cowboy now," she asked slyly.

"Is that a challenge," a familiar baritone voice boomed in question.

Anna stopped tickling Cooper and turned her attention to the sound of a warming cannon and found a battle ready Ironhide standing in the massive door way.

Anna couldn't help but laugh, "Maybe if there's such thing as a space Cowboy."

"Are you saying I'm not qualified to be one," He asked looking disgruntled.

Anna found it funny seeing as the old mech obviously had a strange fetish with the Cowboy ways so to speak.

"Well there is a way you could prove yourself," she said coyly.

Sideswipe sent a taunting glare at Ironhide, "She's from Texas you know so whatever she says will be credible."

The Lamborghini gave her a sly wink, a flicker of the optic really, but she understood that he understood the small game she was forming.

Ironhide powered down his weapons and rested his arms at his side in attention, "Are you now? What is it I have ta' do to prove myself worthy enough?"

"Well," Anna started thoughtfully and purposely drew on the heaviest Texan accent she could, "how well can yah shoot with them cannons there?"

Cooper made another round of _bang bang_ sounds purposely pointing his fingers at the bulky mech.

"Watch it human," he growled back then gave Anna a glare, "You doubt the Autobot's top weapon specialist's abilities at marksmanship?"

Anna gingerly crossed her arms being mindful of her bandaged hand and squared her shoulders, "Don't get snippy with me. Now can you shoot those big guns or no? And I don't mean just blowing anything up but can you aim?"

Ironhide flicked his optics to Sideswipe who immediately threw his hands up in defense, "I'm not a slagging target drone! Don't you remember what Optimus said about the last time?!"

The Topkick Autobot rolled his cannons forwards and gave one a loving pat before aiming straight for the large red target.

He hitched a slanted grin, "But he's not here right now so by default I'm the authority."

"Get him! Blast him!"

Cooper began jumping on the bed cheering the armed specialist on until a sharp kick of his foot plowed straight into Anna's hand. She gave a sharp cry of pain and ripped her hand away protectively. The trauma sent tendrils of fire searing through her palm which had only been throbbing before. The clamoring of footsteps echoed in the room and a bright light seeped through her tightly shut eyes. She hissed in pain a couple of times before the sensation dulled back into the hard throbs of before.

"Sideswipe get Ratchet," Ironhide bellowed.

A massive sweeping black hand had Cooper darting off the bed with a shriek and Ironhide's harsh glare sent him to the corner of the 'room'. The sudden closeness of the massive mech threw her off and she nearly fell from the bed in panic when his hand swatted the boy away. She was able to right and collect herself fast enough though to holler for Sideswipe. She did not want that old cuss of a medic coming back and prodding at her already agitated area again.

"Wait! No its fine I don't need him! Cooper just hit a tender spot and I wasn't ready for it."

Sideswipe stopped and gave her and Ironhide a questioning glance each in turn, "Are you sure?"

"Positive," she smiled confidently, though the hovering face of Ironhide glancing disapprovingly at Cooper and glaring back at her wasn't helping.

"Would you get out of my face," she snapped.

Instead of obliging he leaned closer with a growl and Anna couldn't help the whip of anger that washed over her fear, "I said get _out_ of my personal space not get closer," she snarled.

"I don't believe you have the authority to order me around."

Anna leaned closer to his face against her better judgment, her old father's motto running through her head, _always trust your instincts_, for once had no effect on her actions.

"I believe I do."

"Guys," Sideswipe said hesitantly but was cut off by the crashing footsteps of two particularly concerned looking mech's.

"Ironhide get away from the human," Ratchet stormed in furiously and grabbed the weapon specialist by the back of his armor and was instantly attacked by a startled Ironhide. The CMO went crashing to the ground as Ironhide rounded on the medic with a harsh swing and stopped short after activating his cannons.

"Ironhide stand down!"

Optimus rushed to Ratchet's side with the blades on his arms fully extended and watched his weapon specialist critically. Ratchet waved his leaders help away and glared up at Ironhide who looked suddenly shell shocked.

"R-Ratchet. I'm sorry-I-"

The medic righted himself and threw the nastiest look he could at his old friend, "Get out."

Anna found herself speech less as Ironhide's shoulders sank submissively and he walked as quickly as he could out the door. Optimus watched him as he went but Ratchet sparred no time in going to the young woman's side. She felt a familiar tingling sensation that told her she was being scanned again by his more sophisticated equipment that didn't involve blinding her.

"You need to calm down. You're heart rate is dangerously high."

"I am calm," she feigned poorly, her anger was still uncontrollably seeping through her visage. She sat glaring at him a minute longer feeling several scan flowing threw her body in shivering tingles.

"Ratchet," Optimus started grabbing his CMO's attention, "I would like to speak with her alone."

The medic frowned and grumbled, "Very well but try to make it as to the point as possible. She needs rest," and turned to leave as his officer had commanded.

Sideswipe gently nudging a strangely quiet Cooper into his hands and whispered quietly, "You going to be ok?"

She nodded silently in answer.

Optimus watched as they left, hissing the door shut behind him.

"Annabelle Swift," he greeted formally.

Instantly her anger wafted away in the strangest sensation and she found herself sitting up straight.

"Sir," she squeaked quietly.

"How are you feeling?"

That was the last question she imagined coming out of his mouth let alone the genuinely concerned voice that backed it, she nearly found herself lost for words.

"I'm…ok," she said hesitantly.

"That is good to hear."

She had only seen the Autobot leader once before and he had been intimidating them. He still towered over her little 'room' but he suddenly opted for kneeling on one leg that brought his head just above the railing. Aside from the other mechs he also backed up until his massive figure was at much more comfortable distance by her standards.

"Anna Swift I must ask you, where did you receive an Allspark fragment," her heart instantly began pounding faster and all the blood rushed to her head and pounding hand.

Sensing her alarm he added graciously, "I will not harm or reprimand you in anyway no matter what the reason is so please do not feel threatened. I merely need to know of its origin."

She didn't need him affirming he wasn't there to harm her, she couldn't possibly place her finger on it but she truly knew he wouldn't lay a finger on her. As for the information she was surprised Ratchet hadn't told him everything yet but found no use in making up a lie.

"My dad gave it to me," she said nervously then fell silent again.

"Did he tell you anything when he gave it to you," he asked patiently.

"He told me to take it and not let anyone see it. That was the last time he said anything."

Her face fell at the thought of her dad but she didn't comment or dwell on it.

"I am sorry for your loss," Optimus said solemnly in such a way that Anna felt he was truly sorry for his death. It also helped her to perk up on how perceptive he was, if he could pick up he died from her short sentence then she would have to be more careful about the way she presented her words and body language.

She felt courage seeping through and it allowed her to nearly snap back, "But that doesn't matter now, does it?"

He surprised her again, "No it does not," he stated matter-of-factly, "The deceased cannot help us, only the living can."

So she knew they would keep her alive out of usefulness. That was a comforting thought; she bit sarcastically in her mind.

"I don't know anything else about this thing other than Ratchet told me a little about its history."

"What did he tell you," he pushed gently.

She cursed inwardly, this giant Cybertronian wasn't going to let her get away with anything. He was too perceptive.

"He said it was a part of something that gave your race life and brought your war my world," anger was beginning to bubble again but she held it in check.

His optics dimmed as answered in a slow and grave voice, "Indeed it did,"

He recovered quickly and spoke again in his authoritative but soft voice, "Are you sure there were no other fragments?"

"None," she answered quickly.

He nodded and stood with a hiss from his joints, "I hope you fell better soon Annabelle Swift."

"Just Anna," she didn't really like the formality he was addressing her with and it mounted her nervousness.

"Anna," he added curtly and left the room.

* * *

"Sir?"

Ratchet was just returning from taking the boy to the infirmary to a very annoyed Johnson just in time to see his leader leaving the room.

Optimus stepped away from the door and motioned for him to follow. Ratchet scanned over the readings from the girl as he followed clearly worried of the random fluxuations of her systems. Humans were too influenced by their emotions since the smallest disturbance sent everything into distress. He would have to make his medical bay completely off limits to every bot if he wanted her to recover quickly. Speaking of bot…Ironhide-

Optimus stopped abruptly ending the CMO's train of thought.

"She seems to be following everything you told me," he began, "There is nothing to suggest she is lying either."

Ratchet uncomfortably tapped a panel on his arm, "Yes but what are going to do about the shards in her? I don't want to amputate the appendage since it would make her handicapped for life but I'm afraid that might be the only way."

Optimus gave him a sharp reply, "I don't believe there is any reason to be so hasty. The fragment for all we know could be dead after that final release of energy. I want you to monitor her over the next few joors and try to remove them without severing her appendage. It's the least we can do for her. On another note I would like to keep the sources identity as the Allspark a secret. We do not need to lead the humans on to something that may be false hope."

Ratchet blew an irritated sigh through his vents, "Very well sir."

"And Ratchet?"

"_humph,_" he grunted in question.

"Go talk with Ironhide before he sulks and blames himself all the way to the well of Allsparks," he added with a light smile.

Ratchet stiffened, "Fine."

* * *

Ratchet found him sulking in a dark corner of the base, namely behind his favorite building that squashed up against the electric fence to form a sort of ally way hardly anyone passed through. He sat idle in his vehicle form but upon seeing the CMO he transformed into his bipedal mode, his shoulders slumped forwards and he refused to look him in the eye.

Ratchet didn't waste any time scolding his old friend, "What has gotten into you?"

"Slag it Ratchet you know not to sneak up on me like that."

Ironhide was a soldier and out on the battle field he had to have quick and violent reactions drilled into his processor but this was different.

"I didn't sneak up on you. I was very loud in my entrance but you were too busy raising the woman's stress levels and scanning her bio signs."

Ironhide shot him a scowl, "She's an aggravating little human."

"Is there something you wanted to talk about," The CMO had dropped his professional medic facade so he was all mech and nothing but Ironhide's tired old friend. Something was bothering him and he needed to get it out of his systems before the veteran blew something up.

Ratchet had known Ironhide since the very beginning of the war and he knew his original role of guardianship ran deep in his circuits. He had a very bad habit of becoming attached to the younglings he taught how to fight such as Sideswipe and Sunstreaker and took it as a personal failure whenever one of them got hurt or worse, killed.

Strangely he had been observing the same relationship growing between him and the rescued woman. He was old but he was no fool, the actions of his friend did not elude him nor the meaning behind them. They had not originally started out on good terms and the weapon specialist would often complain about her to him personally. Sometimes Ratchet was convinced Ironhide sought him out just so he could bad mouth the girl, though not uncharacteristic of him, he just seemed to go more out of his way to do so than was normal. The moment Barricade showed up however he noticed the sudden turn in his attitude that revealed to Ratchet how his friend really felt.

When the energy from the Allspark, which their inexperienced soldiers would not have been able to recognize, had dissipated it took all of the Autobots to restrain him and keep the trigger happy mech from blasting the offline Decepticon into oblivion. Ironhide personally helped Prowl take him to the brig and voluntarily took the first watch of guard duty. Then just a while ago Ratchet found the grumpy old mech fighting with the infamous girl on her medical berth and was relentlessly scanning her at the same time.

Ironhide might not want to admit it or even acknowledged it but he was becoming attached to the young human and had already staked his claim as her unofficial guardian. He couldn't be taking well to the idea since he had already turned down becoming the Lennox' guardian. He had a soft spot for the human soldier but he didn't want to be away from the base incase anything happened while he was away. He just didn't have enough energy in him to be worrying about one place or the other all the time.

"No. Nothing. I'm-sorry for attacking you," Ironhide said hesitantly, a characteristic very unlike him.

Ratchet clapped a friendly hand on his shoulder, "There is nothing to be sorry for my friend. We all do things for a reason," he said repeating a wise phrase he had learned from Prime.

* * *

**Dang it, not very much Barricade action going on here either. The anticipation is almost too much for me! I cant wait to start writing about the Con but my brain keeps saying not yet...not yet.  
**

**I'm feeling really excited for this story. I have, count them, 27 chapter ideas all lined up so far and still growing. I've never planned this far into a story but the plot line keeps running away faster than I can keep up with in the written chapters. I've actually had to type up a plot line for this one. Keep reviewing my pretties!**


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own transformers

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_Sirens wailed in a high pitch scream signaling an ongoing air raid. His room shook and shouts of armed men sounded through the halls outside. The young boy clutched his toy jet and scooted himself further under his bed. His thick brown hair was a messy set of curls on his crown and his eyes were wide with terror. He knew this place and couldn't shake the feeling of déjà vu that recognized this horror half cloaked in shadow. _

_People were shouting but he couldn't make out but a few words, monster, machine, and extermination. The sound of screeching metal grinding against his ears was the only warning before the entire roof came crashing down around him. The young boy, shivering under the bed peeked out from behind a fallen piece of roof and watched a groping-giant metal hand searching the room. From the small vantage point he looked up past the massive hand and saw a creature. A metal man with blood red eyes and gnashing teeth searched the barracks filled with people still trying to cloth and arm themselves._

_A scream he knew all too well drew his attention back to the metal man's serrated hands and watched as it plucked his father up into the air. Up and up he went until his father was staring the creature in the face and yelling things he couldn't understand. A mechanical sound unlike anything he had ever heard released a stream of gibberish then a loud snap echoed in his ears before his father went limp. The metal man tossed his father aside like a little girl's doll and he watched as his body disappeared over the building's rooftop. _

_The boy couldn't utter a sound through his terror and he hardly knew what was going on. He watched the creature's clawed hand transform into a gun and watched as a spray of laser fire engulfed the room. He ducked under his slate of metal and tried to curl away from the screams of soldiers trying to run away._

Tyler awoke with a sudden jolt. The movement left him light headed and panting with wide eyes. He felt all of the blood rush into his head with an assault of adrenaline and could hear his heart pounding in his ears. That time at the base always haunted his memories, so strongly sometimes that he would lapse into nightmares of the metal creature tearing his surroundings apart. Sometimes he convinced himself it wasn't real, but how would that explain why his father was long dead?

He had been only ten and at a military base in a place he couldn't remember. They were experimenting on something there; he couldn't remember what it was either. The details of everything was so vague from then and all he could remember was that monstrosities blood red-glowing eyes. The massive hand made of knives groping around the room and watching it take his father and snapping his spine. Then the Star Wars like laser fire that killed everyone else in the room.

It was hours after the metal man left that he was found by military officials and threatened into never speaking of the incident again. He never wanted anything to do with the military or government after that but with his father gone and his mother nearly working herself to death he had no choice but to join ROTC and take a full ride scholarship through the military.

Tyler reached a hand to his face and rubbed his eyes tiredly. He licked his lips and noticed his tongue felt like sand paper and he suddenly wanted nothing more than a drink. His fingers brushed over a course piece of cloth making him stop short and blink. He felt his forehead and couldn't miss the familiar texture of a tightly wrapped bandage. Then as the adrenaline surge subsided he couldn't help but feel a searing pain in his leg. He yelled strangely through his parched throat and groped for his leg that felt like it was on fire. Throwing the covers back his found his leg tightly bound and casted. He gripped it and grunted sourly in pain.

"Sir calm down. I'll get the doctor."

A nurse in the immediate area rushed behind closed doors and came back moments later with Johnson trailing behind at a quick pace. The head doctor grabbed Tyler's hand and pulled him away from the hutting leg.

"Get him some pain killers," he ordered gruffly.

The nurse took off without a word and disappeared back behind the doors.

"You need to calm down son. We'll get some pain medication in your systems and you won't feel a thing. Look at me."

Tyler tried to look the officer in the eye in sharp attention that had been drilled him to him through clenched teeth and focused everything on his words.

"You were in a comma for nearly two weeks so you're going to feel a little tired and busted up. You cracked your head open on god knows what and practically shattered your leg. Can you remember anything?"

Tyler nodded his head sharply and rasped, "I remember the carrier was attacked. I tried to find-Where's Anna?!"

Johnson quirked an eyebrow at the young man, "Anna? Annabelle Swift?"

Tylers eyes grew wide and he shook his head vigorously.

"That young lady is a piece of work. Don't worry she's fine at the moment."

Tyler whipped his head around the infirmary and sweeped his vision over the scant amount of injured personnel watching him carefully.

"At the moment? Where is she?"

Johnson frowned and tried pull together the right way to phrase it, he may have been a doctor but he wasn't the best with words, "She is in a different area of the medical institute but she is fine."

Indeed she was and it was killing the head medic who was usually in charge. He didn't believe the Autobots should have anything to do with the medical treatment of humans, it wasn't natural and god only knew what they could do to an unconscious man. Unfortunately for the first time in his high position he was denied any sort of medical records on the woman but was notified she was in the Autobot ward due to a related accident. He had been there when the alarms sounded, he watched as the beast came rolling in and transformed. He saw it jump at the woman and was blinded by the light that was produced by some unknown source.

Something alien had happened and he didn't like it. He tried to take her into his medical ward but the higher-ups strictly told him she was to handled only by the Autobots. The very idea was maddening that at this very moment a human being in who knew what kind of critical condition was being handled solely by an alien.

"Here are the pills sir."

Johnson took the bottle full of some of the strongest painkillers he had and handed them to the distressed young man with a full-plastic cup of water. Tyler took them graciously and choked down the horse pills and chugged the entire cup.

When he finished Tyler was gasping for the air he denied himself while downing the liquid and asked between pained puffs of air, "When can I see her?"

Johnson sighed with the best answer he had, "I don't know."

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Anna was having a serious case of insomnia. Ratchet kept trying to apply sedatives to her blood stream but apparently she was metabolizing the drugs within a couple of hours. He became frustrated with her lack of rest and finally deemed the shards had to come out. That was how she found herself in her current predicament.

"I can't feel my hand," she complained and shook her numbed fingers.

"Good. That means were ready to start. According to your earlier reactions it will only last two hours at best so I need to work quickly."

Ratchet's hologram examined her tingling palm with his finger then reached for a tray that held an array of menacing looking tools next to a metal bowl. Anna stiffened and eyed the sharp scalpel in his hand, "Are you sure it won't just come out by itself?"

A heavy hand landed on her shoulder and gave the spot a painful squeeze; these guys just didn't know how to manage their strength. She looked nervously up at the holoform of Ironhide that reminded her of Patrick Swayze when he played Pecos Bill in one of her favorite western movies. He was complete with everything from the cowboy hat to the broad mustache but the scars were the only things throwing her off. There was one nasty looking one going across one of his eyes and multiple puckered lines scarred his muscled arms. At least he was wearing a decent shirt and jeans instead of the old time western clothes from the movie. She couldn't understand why Ratchet thought it was necessary for him to be here in the first place.

"Just lie down and don't look," the medic ordered.

Hesitantly, she laid all the way down and stared past Ironhide to the ceiling.

"This might hurt a little," he said vaguely just before she felt the first prick.

At first she had the squirming sensation of needles digging into her skin and listened to the soft pings of mettle falling into the set aside bowl. She closed her eyes and tried to remember an instrumental song she once knew. She tried to remember the tempo and when which instrument picked up the main part as the other ones dropped back to provide support. She let the music fade to a dull throb in her thoughts and tried to think out the plot line of one of the stories she had sitting in her computer at home. She scrunched up her nose trying to come up with a solution to a nagging plot hole.

While completely immersed in her imaginary world Ratchet used a medical gauze to mop up some of the blood then went to cut another piece out. That's when she felt it. With a gasp her mind was painfully jerked back to reality and her good hand instinctively flew up to grab or shove away the object causing her the suddenly intense pain. Ironhide's hand grabbed aholt of hers and pinned her lurching shoulders down in a movement so fast it nearly knocked the wind out of her.

Ratchet growled and mumbled to himself, "The sedatives are already wearing out."

The snipping of her hand was quickly becoming the most painful thing she had ever experienced. Each cut into her flesh was becoming more excruciating than the last. As her hand came a live more blood began pooling out of the open wound saturating her skin with the warm liquid. She began to sweat uncontrollably and gripped the headboard of her bed. Ironhide's hand touched hers so she transferred it to clutch his fingers in a vice grip that would have surely crushed them if he they had been real. He didn't show any sign of discomfort as he held her twitching body down or seemed to mind the cracking grip.

Anna grit her teeth until her gums hurt then settled for drawing blood from her lip. Tears began pooling from her eyes and she whimpered between the lurching of her body trying to impulsively pull away.

"Slag it Ratch you're killin' her," Ironhide roared, "Can't you work any faster?!"

Ratchet furrowed his brow and injected another dose of numbing medication to her palm and worked as quickly as he could without damaging a nerve. One more lesion was all it took for her body to take control and black out in a response to protect her from the pain.

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The brig was one slagging boring place to be, Barricade rightfully concluded. The detained Decepticon sat with his back flush against his cell walls and glared through the bars of energy to an absent looking Prowl. This was good, he thought to himself, it meant the tactician was either comming someone or deeply engrossed in a report. His lack of attention would be a tactical weak spot and an opportunity. They thought he was completely disarmed and helpless, and in their confidence routine detaining protocols had been sorely over looked. But then again the chaos and havoc of earlier could have been the cause of their carelessness, just a micro bit of luck for the 'con.

Up above through bullet proof windows a squad of soldiers sat around a table of poker and were currently engrossed in slamming their cards down and yelling nonsensically to each other. The Earthling's idea of guard duty was poor at best and he wondered how this species ever got anything done. They couldn't possibly stop him if he got out. No they would just be bugs in his way after he took out his real guard. But even then escape wouldn't be so simple. He would love to bust his way out of the base and tear through anyone in his way but then what? He was outnumbered by some of the Autobot's best and there was no base he could retreat to, no safe rendezvous. He would be injured with little more than a standard medical kit and basic repair knowledge by himself.

To top his list of elements against him his energon levels were so low he was close to shorting out. The solar power had allowed him to recharge what little remained in his systems but now they just burned painfully in his circuitry and he could feel his pumps corroding without fresh lubricants. The old energon was gumming up his systems painfully. He would have to wait until they gave him a fresh cube of energon if knowing the Autobots they might be kind enough if only they want him functional…might.

He would have to think critically about his situation and not blindly rush forward. He would have to take the first step into his escape cautiously, get to know the base and its defenses. Barricade's serrated teeth pulled into a wicked grin. He knew exactly what he had to do, but first he needed to test the waters-as the humans say.

The hunter stood on his feet carefully eying the Autobot and scoffed when he barely flinched. This was supposed to be their second in command? He smirked with rising confidence and transformed into his vehicular mode. Prowl finally jolted to attention and stared suspiciously at the 'con. Barricade could almost guess what was going through the scum bag's processor, who's ingenious idea was it to leave his transformation cogs in?

"What are you doing," the white Charger demanded suspiciously.

Barricade unrolled a window and boomed through his speakers, "Getting a different point of view to see if you're any less ugly from here."

Prowl glared pointedly at him but didn't comment on the insult, "Since you're fully awake and functional tell me intelligence information about the Decepticon's. What is their next plan of action?"

Barricade revved his engine angrily, how dare an Autobot order him around, "The slag if I know Autobot scum."

The even more aggravating part was he really didn't know. He hadn't been able to respond to Starscream and he had been off lined before he could receive any further orders. The cursed Autobots had turned off his comm. links so he was completely deaf to any Decepticon orders or activity.

Barricade silenced his engine signaling he didn't want to have anything else to do with the tactician and in turn the Autobot went back to ignoring him. Prowl wasn't usually so absent minded when it came to guard duty but Optimus had assigned him with a special task. Currently he was pulling up files of Annabelle Swift's male creator; Michieal Swift. His files were highly classified and protected with several inscriptions of primitive codes that were easy enough to bypass.

The 'con waited for the humans to unstick their noses from the glass where they were watching him intently and sweeped his vision over to Prowl and made sure he was thoroughly occupied. When he decided it was clear enough he activated his holoform. It took a moment to get used to the new height and disorienting feeling of placing all of his attention and senses into such an insignificant body but at the moment it was just the weapon he needed. Creating matter was such a simple task.

Barricade traded his police outfit for a NEST military one to better fit himself into the ranks and his hair was now a short raven black. To complete the overhaul he erased the mustache that used to grow from his upper lip and settled for a slight shadow about his face. The only thing he always had a hard time fixing were his red eyes. The blood red color was almost impossible to bleed out with a shade of brown and left him with an odd eye color but it would have to be acceptable.

Satisfied with his new image, the small creation he had projected himself into easily slid through the bars of energy leaving his locked down body behind to find his first target, that human female.


	12. Chapter 12

**One of my readers brought to attention my use of the word 'aholt' instead of 'a hold'. For the sake of those who didn't know or haven't caught on yet, 'aholt' is the Southern slang-term for 'a hold' and is purposely used. Since Anna is from Texas and I throw in a large amount of Southern influences, it was a small personal touch to my story. **

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Anna awoke slowly in her foggy mind, shifting slightly to become more comfortable she tugged mindlessly at the thin bed sheet to better cover her. Stomping footsteps brought her a bit more out of the half awake state and tried to force her mind back to sleep. Her lucid state was completely shattered when a gruff, loud, and timid metallic voice echoed in her ears.

"Anna?"

The young woman flipped back to her other side and opened her eyes to a very bright pair of cyan optics. Her heart rate shot through the roof and she had to blink several times to fully register the giant robotic face taking up her vision. When she realized what-who it was, she propped herself held up on her elbows and scrunched her nose up in annoyance. She doubted she could ever get fully get used to giant alien robots sticking their noses so close.

"What? Is there something on my face?" she snapped juvenilely.

Ironhide's long expression turned downwards into a frown then he scoffed, "That's no way to talk to your elder young lady."

She studied his features for a good long moment, trying to make something out of his concentrating scowl before all she could think of was to reply dumbly, "Huh?"

The cannon-toting 'bot never said a nice thing to her and everything that came out of his mouth was an insult that a sailor would be proud of. The total lack of crude grammar and insults threw her for a sudden loop; why the sudden volte-face? Anna sat up noting the immense amount of grogginess she felt and even more so the lack of hygiene. Her breath had to be atrocious if the staleness of her mouth was anything to go by.

"Did you knock a few chips loose during your recharge?"

_My what in my what_, she thought vaguely while not firing on all cylinders. She hated mornings and in turn they were anything but kind to her. Anna shook her head then rubbed the sleep crud from her eyes, snapping at herself to be more alert. Not liking the idea of being in such a vulnerable position in front of the mech and her growing discomfort for lack of hygiene, she swung her legs over the edge and tried to stand.

Ironhide shifted so his arm could come up over the shelf and held a servo out that she caught in her stumble. He gave her a concerned look that didn't go unnoticed but she tried to ignore it for the sake of her remaining pride.

"I feel weird," she told him finally.

Indeed she did, her legs felt unnaturally wobbly and weak under her weight as if she hadn't stood in days.

"How long was I out?" she asked warily, a part of her was dreading the answer.

She quit trying to reason with herself why he was being calm and collected in his movements and pulled away from his fat finger to stand under her own power.

"Forty eight earth hours. Ratchet said your body was trying to catch up for lack of rest and your body had been over taxed by...another energy output."

Her eyes bugged at the news, "Two days?! Wait. You mean that light came back?…_ugh_. I need a shower."

She didn't want to talk about it; she really didn't, so with her infamous ingenuity she flipped the conversation with the toss of a loose tangent. Luckily, he dumbly took the bait, or maybe he didn't want to talk about it either.

"Will one accelerate your health?"

He was concerned for her health, that was a new one. She scrunched up her nose at him knowing that if she said the wrong thing she wouldn't get her way, "Yes it will. We humans need to clean off to purge impurities from our skin, and it makes us feel better. Not to mention smell better."

Ironhide laid his hand palm up on the floor indicating for her to climb onto it. She did so without hesitation knowing some alone time and a nice hot shower awaited. He curled his fingers upwards and raised his hand slowly to optic level. Anna clinged to one of his massive digits as a wave of vertigo over took her.

"I will take you to have this 'shower' but you only get twenty minutes. Where is the required hygiene practice located?"

She didn't argue with the time slot since she was so desperate to get away and pointed out the door, "Its back in the barracks."

Ironhide's gate was anything but subtle and he practically bounced from one side to the other, something to do with his massive weight no doubt. Anna didn't really like the idea of being held so high off the ground and her weakened legs didn't help, how two days could affect her so much she didn't know. But then again she felt pretty drained the first time that crazy light had happened, Ironhide didn't tell her the specifics but her imagination was conjuring up a recreation of the light show full of head splitting information she didn't understand a lick of.

Ironhide didn't transform like she hopped he would and walked right out onto the runway with her in hand. It was extremely awkward to be stared at by every single personnel around that literally stopped whatever it was they were doing to watch the weapon specialist carry a human. . She sat in his palm clinging to a finger and watched below her as soldiers gave the Autobot a range of glances. Most of them were curious but a few were obviously skeptical.

She knew most of the Autobots moved around in vehicle form when outside since a lot of the humans were uncomfortable with their true selves. Sideswipe took the time to explain that Optimus thought it was safer to remain in vehicle form when around so many humans too.

"Hey 'Hide?! Where are y'all goin'?!"

Ironhide paused from his mission and turned to face and an advancing Major Lennox.

Ironhide relayed all of the information easily to his human friend, "I'm taking Miss Swift to take a 'shower' before bringing her back to the medical bay."

Will glanced up at the young woman peeking out from the black mech's fingers and smiled, "Do you need any help?"

Anna could hear the gears clicking away in Ironhide's possessor as he tried to think of an answer, "Yes. I don' know how to wash the youngling and I don' want to start now.

She gave the mech a sharp glare, "Did you just call me a kid?"

"You're not even a kid," he grunted.

This was the Ironhide she knew, the one who gave her crap about her age and height.

"Ok shorty. Just get me to the barracks so I can quit stinking like road kill and anesthetics."

"I fail to see how I'm short," he shot back logically, "And you do not smell anything like a creature that has been festering on the side of the road."

Anna grumbled unintelligently under her breath, the Cybertronians had to take everything so literal it was maddening at times. Will laughed from below for the same reason she was cursing and held his hand out in a motion to continue on their route.

Ironhide let her down before the barracks where Will joined her side.

He waved Ironhide good naturedly as Anna huffed her way inside, "Don't worry pal. I'll make sure she doesn't trip and break something."

He shut the entrance before the cannon-toting mech could respond, knowing the human sarcasm would be completely lost on him. Being familiar as he was about Ironhide, Will was sure the giant softy was likely fretting just outside the same way he once did for his daughter when she fell and scrapped her knee, yowling at the top of her lungs from the small cut.

He followed Anna, watching to see if she really was sound enough on her feet until she stopped where the building separated into the male and female halls. Her face was narrowed and he could easily recognize the fighting spirit many soldiers possessed burning in them.

"You can't follow me in. Only girls are allowed past here."

Anna was going to use every advantage she had to get some breathing space and alone time, even if the excuse sounded childish.

Will threw his hands up as if the ward off the wrath of his irate wife, "I wouldn't dare," he replied sarcastically, "I know how to give women space when their on a tear."

Anna snorted at that, "Your wife must love you then."

He shrugged his shoulders, "When you live with nothing but women you learn a few survival skills."

Anna dropped her aggressive stance knowing she had won and gave him a sly smile, "Just make sure you don't forget them."

"Believe me, I won't."

Will smiled fondly after the young woman as she disappeared behind the double doors; she had really been dealing with a lot for someone so young. He had seen better soldiers fall into emotional collapse from similar problems, she was strong.

Anna made a short stop by her room to pick up a fresh pair of clothes and a few domestic items but quickly found that easier said than done. The women she had come to call her dorm mates, seeing her predicament as a precursor to college life, went all mother hen on her.

"Honey where have you been?"

"Are you feeling alright?"

"You should sit down. You look pale."

Anna tried to be modest and not snap at them with her growing irritation, "I'm fine, just caught a bug so I've been in the med bay."

They kept asking her if she needed anything as Anna tried to collect her things, sorely pushing her temper.

"Where are you going?" one of them asked when Anna stood rigidly, ladened with a shower tote and towel. There was no way the woman hadn't deducted where she was going and blamed it on her maternal worries rather than a lack of brain cells.

"I'm fixin' to take a shower. You might not have noticed, but I stink."

The three of them parted so she could finally reach the door, freedom from her bloodstained, three day old clothes was drawing near.

"Alright Hun. Just let me know if you need anything."

Anna gave the older woman a curt thank you, trying her best not to snap, and finally freed herself from their clucking.

Anna didn't feel comfortable until she was stripped down and soaking up steaming hot water. She breathed out a sigh of relief as the heated liquid stung her skin and let her tight muscles relax. She still couldn't quell her growing irritation but the shower helped a little. Feeling fresher than she had in a while, Anna stepped out into the hall still red as a lobster from the shower. Sporting her new Snoopy T-shirt and a fresh pair of denim capris, she went back to brave her room mates.

They weren't as bad as before since the heat of the shower had put some artificial color into her cheeks and was silently glad for it.

"I bet you're ready to go home."

Anna perked up and turned to fully face the mechanic, "I've been ready to go home but that's unlikely to happen any time soon," she provided sullenly.

The woman looked suddenly bewildered then reached onto her bed for a manila folder.

"What are you talking about? Some official came by yesterday and handed these out."

Anna took the folder and hurriedly scanned over its contents. Apparently the government was giving them a fair amount of money in return for them to strictly not tell anyone of what they'd seen or heard during the 'incident' and their stay at the base. They were to sign the paper and turn it in before they left or it would be their job if they worked in the military, or if they were a civilian they would be detained until the documents were signed.

She noticed the paper was specifically addressed to the woman and gave her a questioning look, "Did they bring one for me?"

The mechanic's smile couldn't have fallen faster if she had taken shoved a horny toad in her face.

"They didn't give you one?"

Anna felt a ton of bricks being dropped into her gut and her mind stalled before whipping into fast forward. Everyone was getting the chance to leave except her, she was trapped. Why would the government keep her? Was she the only one?

Before her mind could reel to far forwards she stopped herself and stood back a little. The incident with the shard was alien related and they kept everything about them tightly under lock and key. But that didn't explain why they couldn't just threaten her like the others and send her on her way. Perhaps the shard was could still effecting her, Ironhide had said she experienced another-incident while passed out.

Anna tore out of the room wanting time alone to think and come up with a reason to this madness. There were several calls for her to come back but none of them followed her. She raced back to the bathroom and locked herself in a stall and only then was she able to feel minutely safer. She ripped the bandages from her arm and was shocked with what she found. After only two days of rest her palm was close to being fully healed. Her skin was puckered a healthy pink and only a few scabs lined the wounds from Ratchet's incisions. She began to wonder if the giant robotic being had lied to her about the time she was passed out.

Her mind snapped came to another conclusion, they knew the alien shard would leave her with side effects so they wouldn't want her back with the general population, but then the NEST soldiers were just grunts and not big wig officials or government officials. Wouldn't they lock her up instead of let her roam free on the base among another people? Maybe she wasn't supposed to be out now and there were officials looking for her right that second.

Anna rubbed her head vigorously then banged it against the wall. There were just too many possibilities and scenarios, she really had no idea and her rampant imagination was just giving her a massive headache. Instead, she tried to turn her attentions elsewhere, like her parched mouth.

She checked her watch and found there were five minutes left before she was supposed to meet with Ironhide. Five minutes were long enough to locate a vending machine at least.

Anna trudged to the back of the building, deliberately dragging her feet, trying to avoid Lennox who was likely to be at the front entrance. Luckily, when she reached the empty back room there was no one in sight. There were a few tired looking couches arranged in the common-like room with a TV hanging from the ceiling. On the far wall was a mountain dew and snack machine, next to them stood a lonely table with a coffee maker staining its surface brown.

There wasn't much in the way of water there as she could tell, but a sugary Mountain Dew would suffice for now. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a hand full of change collected in a one dollar bill. A small habit of hers was to always keep a little cash stashed away in her jeans for occasions just as these. She shoved the dollar bill into the machine and pushed one of the many unnecessary buttons to retrieve a can of the only item it sold. She waited for a few seconds but frowned when no electronic sounds filled her ears and no can came rolling out. She pushed the other buttons on the machine and waited again, quickly losing her patience.

"Stupid machine," she seethed, finally kicking it.

"It seems it doesn't like you."

Anna shivered at the dangerous voice behind her and instantly felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. Hesitantly she turned around, shooting the stranger a glare that wavered the second it hit the baritone speaker. Oh damn her teenager mind; it had her eyes roaming up and down in a quick scan of the muscled man before her until they finally locked back onto his eyes. He looked like, hell she couldn't even place him under a category other than…She stopped herself right there. Knowing she was more mature than that, even if the back of her mind whined for her to continue the train of thought and mental imagery.

But as always, when she stepped back, there was no mistaking the dangerous vibe he was giving off. She hadn't even heard the soldier come in, yet here he was mere feet from where her back had been turned. Suddenly, she was acutely aware of just how alone she was with this stranger in the tiny room. She noticed the apparent look of disgust on his face and suddenly wondered if she had something unsightly on her face. Then she felt disgusted by his grimacing scowl, what does he get off looking at her like that?

"I guess not. The damnitable thing ate my dollar," she spat sarcastically.

The stranger squared his shoulders and seemed to almost being trying to bulk himself out in a threatening posture. Anna didn't even bat an eye, in fact she tried not to Feeling suddenly more threatened by him she added her own intimidation practices, and gave him the classic stare down.

"I believe a machine that digests your currency is the least of your worries," his voice was growling and sharp, like a dog trying to hide its snarl.

Anna decided to show him a glimpse of her fangs in return, "No it's not the only thing I'm feeling the urge to kick."

"Do you really think that's a wise urge to satiate?"

He took a swift step forwards causing her to step back in an instinctive reaction and anger began coiling around her fear like a rattle snake, "If my current irritations continue to bother me, I just might."

"That would be _most_ unintelligent."

He was a mere arms length away now and she could see the discoloration of his eyes. They were a deep reddish brown that were completely unnatural in her book. She almost lost herself in the keen, cold, calculating eyes that wished her more harm than good. The snake inside of her rattled warningly, a flash of anger passed over her chestnut eyes and she set him up with a venomous glare.

"Step back," she hissed.

"No."

In a flash he struck his hand out to grab her arm and she suddenly found herself reflexively reeling to punch his nose, he caught that hand too. The next thing she knew her back was being pinned uncomfortably to the Mountain Dew machine and his fingers were digging into her arms with the force of a boa constrictor. A sharp zap of electricity, like being mildly shocked from an outlet, shot unnaturally from his fingers into her skin and again vice versa.

"Get the fuck away from me!"

She tried to kick and struggle her way out of his grip but his canines were already flashing in a full on snarl.

"Stop moving fleshling or ill rip your arm off."

He applied more presser to her limb causing her to involuntarily sputter, if he didn't crack something she would be amused.

"Tell me," he began sharply, "What did you do?! How did you produce that high level of energy?!"

His breath was hot against her face as he barked demands, a normal person would have been terrified, and right now she was extremely terrified. Her usual response to fear was anger, but the anger that swept over her with each bitten syllable of his demands was downright unnatural. But it was hard enough to think in the situation as it was.

"I-said. Fuck-off!" she growled through grit teeth.

He slammed her then against the machine with a sickening force that had her seeing stars as the plastic bent under neither her head.

"Answer me or die!"

The door slammed open just as Anna's swimming vision and burning headache were beginning to subside but she didn't dare take her eyes off of his.

"I heard yelling are you-Step away from the girl!"

Will Lennox stood in the door way with his gun trained on the back of the man's head with a dangerous glare set into his aim.

"Let her go and step away with your hands up or I will shoot!"

The black haired soldier gave a feral snarl, picking up Anna as if she were nothing but the weight of a pillow and threw her painfully to the ground. Then before she could blink a heavy foot landed painfully on her gut and a hand gun, she had no idea where it could have come from, was being pointed into her face.

"Get out or I'll shoot her," he demanded.

Slowly, Will lowered his gun and raised his hands in the air.

"Out!" the man barked.

Will began to back out slowly when a strange churning noise had him and the dangerous man turning their heads. The Mountain Dew machine gave a loud gurgling sound that most people associated with the dispensing of a drink, except when the green and red can came out no one expected it to fly out of its compartment like a loaded machine gun. The first can pelted the man's arm then another one smashed into his face, bursting open to drench his hair in a sticky, sugary mess. He roared in pain as the projectiles pelted him and backed up trying to fend off the oncoming objects.

Will had his gun cocked and firing before he could question the phenomenon and let loose a round of bullets that all connected with the retreating man until his body _flickered,_ and disappeared. Anna could scarcely believe her eyes as she was undoubtedly saved by a vending machine and even more so when the man just…vanished like-like a hologram. Will rushed to her side the moment the cans quit firing at the now nonexistent male but never once holstered his pistol.

"Are you ok?!"

Too stunned to speak she rested on numbly nodding her head. He had been a hologram, a Cybertronian, an Autobot? No that couldn't be right, she hadn't met anyone with quite that much of a temper, not even Ironhide flew off the handle that severely. Speak of the devil and it shall arrive bearing the wrath of hell, was an understatement to the being that came crashing through the ceiling. A giant squeal had Anna cringing away as the roof was peeled back viciously and found herself starring up at a furious looking Ironhide, pointing a giant singing cannon down upon them like a vortex of death.

"I heard gunshots and screaming," he said while scanning the room that was vacant besides his human friend and Anna. The exploded Mountain Dew cans littering the floor were the only true anomalies besides the now missing roof, and a few bullet holes in the wall.

"Ironhide it was a Decepticon!" Will shouted for his Autobot partner to hear.

The weapon specialist's free hand came crashing down in front of the two humans as he scanned the room with the other one adorning a very alive cannon, searching for the threat. Anna stood up slowly away from Will and the hand that had startled her heart into nearly jumping out of her throat and supported her shaking limbs with her back against the warm vending machine with wide eyes. It had been a Decepticon, the very thing that destroyed the aircraft carriers and killed her dad.

Once Ironhide was satiated enough to believe the immediate threat was gone, he turned his attentions to the two humans below him.

"Are either of you harmed?"

"In one piece," Lennox breathed.

Anna was too enthralled with starring at Ironhide's massive hand and pulling her scattered thoughts back together to reply.

"Anna?" came Ironhide's bouldery voice, "What is your status?"

His mechanical voice snapped her to her surroundings and she allowed herself to stare up at Ironhide's cyan optics.

"I'm…OK."

Will touched her arm and she immediately flinched away with a painful cringe.

"You don't look OK to me. He gave you a bit of a thrashing," he said in concern.

The major cursed under his breath then addressed the sternly watching mech, "Ironhide take her to the hospital wing and stay with her. I need to speak with Optimus ASAP."

His engine revved angrily, "I'm not leaving either of you unattended."

Will stomped his foot before his partner, "Anna was the one attacked and she needs medical attention. I was the only other one to witness what happened and I need to talk with Optimus, now. Take her and make sure the Decepticon won't try it a second time."

Ironhide frowned but flipped his palm face up in a silent invitation, "Fine."

Will coaxed Anna who was still slightly in shock into the Autobot's hand then braced the both of them for when Ironhide lifted his precious cargo. He curled his fingers around the humans securely with a still revving cannon alive and hot at his side. Gently, he set his hand down again for Lennox to climb off. In his absence of holding Anna upright Ironhide nearly closed his hand completely on her in fear of the woman falling off.

With a short glance and a curt nod Will sprinted over the runway. Ironhide watched him go until he disappeared into the mass of oblivious humans. Carefully, and swiftly, he began his hick to the closest infirmary which was regretfully the human's. Anna slid out of his hand easily and stood on her shaking limbs as Ironhide transformed into his GMC topkick so he could activate his hologram. He gingerly grabbed aholt of her arms, receiving a wince in return and guided her into the building. He was fuming that an intruder had gotten past him, and especially to Lennox and Anna of all humans.

They entered the infirmary and Anna stopped short, digging her heals into the tile floor even though it did little to stop their advance. There was only one person who could have caused the whine that emitted from her throat.


	13. Chapter 13

**I love third person. It's a blessing and a curse all in one. It's hard to juggle a good balance between what you want the reader to know and what you want the reader to interpret. I'm having a bit of trouble not giving everything away but still making everything in the story subtly obvious. I hope I haven't made the focuses on characters too confusing.**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own transformers, only my original characters

* * *

They entered the infirmary and Anna stopped short, digging her heals into the tile floor even though it did little to stop their advance. There was only one person who could have caused the whine that emitted from her throat.

Standing right there, looking more alive than he had in weeks, talking with Victoria was Tyler. He sat in a chair beside her bed with his leg in a cast and a pair of crutches resting at his side. Leaning over the jovial woman was Cooper grinning from ear to ear from some joke she had failed to hear.

Ironhide who was still horrible at judging his own strength while human, slammed the door open upon their entrance most ungracefully.

"Look it's a cowboy!"

Cooper came barreling toward her like a heat seeking missile pointing his finger guns at Ironhide along the way. The said mech growled and halted the boy by grabbing the back of his shirt and easily lifted him into the air. Anna sighed morbidly; this cowboy thing was spreading like wildfire and quickly getting on her nerves. She wasn't sure how many more wanna-be cowboys she could take.

"What do ya' think you're doin' punk?"

Cooper gulped, clearly intimidated by the muscular man then screeched for all his young lungs were worth, "Hey let me down!"

Anna was silently thankful for the weapon specialist's intervention. Her entire body hurt like fire, especially her arm and head, but she had to admit there was a small bit of humor and satisfaction about Cooper's current predicament with the cannon-toting mech's hologram. Tyler scrambled hurriedly to his feet with clacking crutches and hobbled over to her not far behind Cooper. Ironhide tried blocking him but the trashing boy made it easier for Anna to scoot around him and meet her friend halfway, she just couldn't believe he was really awake.

"Oh God. Anna," Due to his crutches being in the way, he settled for hugging her head to his chest in a tight hug.

"Hey, what's up?" She awkwardly gave him a light, one arm embrace with her less damage appendage.

"I thought you went down with the ship," he said huskily and she could feel the heat in her cheeks rise.

Anna pulled away hastily in discomfort; well it wasn't so much uncomfortable as it was strange. She wasn't used to being so close to someone or being held in a hug. The heat of his skin radiating through the shirt was a foreign feeling.

"I just got really damn lucky," she said after recovering.

"I guess we both were. So many people died."

She fell silently into contemplation, they _had_ been really damn lucky. Probably more than she would ever fully realize. Of the hundreds of people who had died so few were left and _they_ were among the survivors. Even with what she lost and the gnawing questions rising in her conscious, she was truly thankful for whatever uncanny luck she had that day.

"What in the blazes is going on over here?! This is a medical facility not a common room!"

The medical officer storming in startled Anna so badly that her shoulders jumped in surprise. Ironhide didn't deny the grumpy looking man access to the center of the group and even stepped aside for him to get through. Johnson's eyes were glowing white hot through his blue irises and he looked about ready to start throwing things.

"Sorry Doc. It's just been a while since we've seen each other-"

Ironhide cut Tyler short, rudely interrupting him with impatience, "Anna needs medical attention. Now."

The engineer started and set a worried pair of eyes on Anna, "You're hurt?"

Johnson's face fell into a severe frown, He knew the girl was supposed to be under the Autobot medic's super vision. It just proved his point that robotic aliens shouldn't ever care for humans. Now was his chance to check the girl and find out how the aliens had been tampering with her.

"What happened?" he asked, falling into his routine.

Ironhide was quick to provide him with the answer before Anna could even sputter, "A Decepticon attacked her," he bluntly said in a low growl.

"Hey I can speak for myself," Anna interjected.

Johnson gave a low growl of his own, he only knew of one Decepticon on the base and it was supposed to be under lock and key. It just goes to show how seriously these robots never took anything.

"Will you people quiet down?! Can't you see you're stressing the poor girl out when she obviously doesn't feel good? Shame on you."

Victoria's voice had an immediate calming effect that left a bed of shame in its wake. Even Anna felt the sinking feeling of being caught with her dad's shot gun after finally figuring out the lock combination when she was little.

He had told her one time when she asked to see the hunting rifle that she could only get a look at it if she figured out the combination. She only had a few days to figure it out since he was about to go on leave again, it was ridiculous how well she remembered that part of her childhood. She couldn't remember for the life of her why she wanted to see the double barrel but it was a challenge she took to heart. Only when she was finally caught pulling the thing from its protective metal vault did her dad blow a gasket and begin a tirade of how dangerous weapons were, then went about showing her how to use it, go figure.

Johnson sighed harshly through his nose, "Mrs. I understand your concern but…You should be resting," he ground out.

Victoria straightened against the wall of pillows allowing her to sit up and crossed her arms over her chest, giving the doctor a pointed glare. She turned her gaze on Ironhide after she was finished giving the doctor her silent resentment, "And you mister, can put the child down. He's turning red and blue."

Sure enough Cooper looked like he was about to suffocate from the collar of his shirt chocking his throat from where Ironhide held him. The weapon specialist dropped him ungracefully to the floor and watched carefully as the boy retreated behind Anna who winced at his contact and stuck his tongue out at him. Ironhide bristled and mumbled under her breath, "Why you little…"

Johnson evaluated her reaction and circled around to her back, checking her over carefully. Anna watched the man out of the corner of her peripheral vision and followed him with her eyes but didn't turn. He placed a careful hand on her left arm and gently rubbed over it with a soft squeeze. His touch alone was enough to send fire up her arm and she struggled to remain still.

She hated doctors, who didn't? But she could be respectful about it at least. It takes pain to gain relief. She couldn't help but squirm under his grip, she knew the man was human but she couldn't help but remember her last encounter with the Autobot's medic. She could almost feel her hand being torn open again and the torturous pieces of metal being plucked out one by one. Johnson moved away and didn't touch anything else, much to her relief then place a hand between her shoulder blades.

"I'll have to get an x-ray of your arm."

She followed his guiding hand that had thankfully found a spot that didn't hurt so much, "OK," she absently replayed.

Ironhide and Tyler moved to follow them in but Johnson stopped them just in the entrance to the X-ray room, "Don't you two even dare. Out, the both of you."

He slammed the door in their face leaving him to his medical duties.

Ironhide grunted in displeasure at the medic's actions, plastered his back against the door and crossed his arms over his chest. Since his body had no need for constant movement to stimulate circulation, the hologram settled for standing stiff as a stone. Tyler glared up at the gruff man from his slouched position on his crutches.

"So who are you supposed to be Cowboy?"

Ironhide shifted his electric blue eyes on to the much less stunning ones of Tyler and assessed him as if he were a common scout, "A weapon specialist," he replied bluntly.

Tyler shifted on his crutches to relieve the soreness in his arms and stared at him suspiciously, "Funny. I don't see your uniform anywhere. And I don't think that mask symbol has anything to do with NEST," Tyler pointed to the proudly displayed Autobot symbol embroidered on his front pocket.

"Youngling, are you trying to pick a fight?"

Tyler's eyes burned hotly as he retorted, "That depends. How are you associated with Anna?"

"Are you her mate?"

The bluntness of his question threw the young engineer off badly enough it took him a moment to organize a reply, "Mate? Where did you grow up, the back woods? No I'm not her b-boyfriend, engaged, and or married. But why would that matter?"

"Then we have nothing to discuss."

Ironhide turned away, indicating he was done speaking with the young man and stared straight ahead of him, though acutely aware of his surroundings through intensive scanners he was stretching from his real body in search of threats. Tyler's face became suddenly red with anger, "So, how much money did the government give you to keep quiet? Personally I could care less about you but since you waltzed in here with Anna obviously injured I want to know."

Tyler thought he hit a sore spot when he saw the man stop breathing and become a little stiffer. It was as if he had just completely ceased to be real. He didn't think anyone could stand that unnaturally still. He was about to voice his concern when Ironhide finally replied, "Your stress levels are risin'. Should I call your medical officer back?"

"You!-"

"Tyler don't fight. I want a cookie."

The young boy pulling at his pant leg effectively distracted him from the outburst.

"Not now buddy," he told Cooper in a manageable temper.

Ironhide moved swiftly away from the door suddenly enough that it startled both of the humans. Not a second later the door knob turned and out came Anna and Johnson. Tyler clacked forward to reach her sooner and tried to catch the severity of her wounds he had missed by gauging her expression.

Anna's head had spun the entire time she was forced to sit still for the X-rays. The Autobot's who claimed to be the good guys had probably been keeping more from her than she had at first realized. Maybe they weren't so different from the Decepticons, like the one that had apparently just attacked her while in hologram form. She just couldn't trust any of them. How could they have not known there was one of the creatures running loose? They had no business being in her life in the first place. She didn't ask to be an alien guinea pig as she had obviously become.

She felt horrible now as well as a seeping anger and seemed to bubble in her chest. Her dad had meant for her to keep the shard from them all this time. She was glad the damned thing had shattered. But then Ratchet, the alien medic that had tampered with her and mutilated her hand painfully, said it still might be of some use.

"What is the diagnosis?" Ironhide asked rather bluntly. That's when she snapped.

"What does it matter to you?"

Ironhide's mouth turned down into a scowl of confusion.

"Go away," she spat before he could retort.

"I can't leave your side with an unknown Decepticon on the loose," he stated matter-of-factly.

She unconsciously reached into her pocket only to find nothing there and silently cursed at herself after catching the action, "How do I know you're not any worse than them?!"

"How dare you-"

Ironhide was abruptly caught off guard by a transmission from Optimus himself, _"Ironhide I need you in the brig right away."_

"_On my way sir," _He replied immediately.

"Fine, you want me to leave you ungrateful little human? Then I will. See if I care when one of those fraggers comes to finish the job."

Anna was bewildered with rage when he simply turned and left. He didn't fight very hard to stay and 'protect her'. It let her know _exactly_ how these robotic things felt about her. She wondered if Sideswipe thought as lowly of her as the others and just never outwardly voiced it, he probably did. She grit her teeth and made a frustrated growl.

Though Johnson would have normally loved to make a comment, he wisely ignored the spatting pair, even if he would love nothing more than to rip into the now obvious Autobot that had been in his med bay. He had a signed document that stated the Autobots would respect his practice and stay out of his medical wing, yet they broke it. He would definitely deal with their leader later.

"Anna, come here honey. What did you do to yourself this time?"

She walked over to the resting soon-to-be-mother and took a seat in the unoccupied chair by her bed. Anna had to admit she was still a bit shaken up from the attack but the most of her nerves was just left over from the pain in her arm. Most of it.

"I didn't really do anything."

"Like hell you did," Tyler berated her quickly and hobbled over on his crutches. The poor guy had only been on them for a few days so he was still having a hard time getting around on them.

"You're bone isn't broken but I estimate you will have a nasty bruise there tomorrow." Johnson said before slamming his office door shut to make an important phone call.

"Well that's good." Tyler summarized in a grumble directed toward the grouchy doctor.

He grabbed aholt of her left hand, ugly short-bitten nails and all, to check the invisible wound but lingered far longer than was necessary.

"You're hand's really rough. What's that?"

Anna pulled away from him defensively, "They're not warts if that's what you're thinking. They're calluses."

"From what?"

Anna bristled, "None of your business," she hurried out of her seat, "Sit. I know those things aren't comfortable."

Tyler sighed, "Ok fine if you don't want to tell me right now you don't have to," then dejectedly sat in the chair.

"Anna got hurt?" Cooper leaned over the railing of Victoria's bed in a playful manor.

"No I just met a scary person is all," she told the boy knowing anything else would be lost on him.

"Anna, what is a Deception? That man said one attacked you," Tyler asked in concern.

Anna frowned at Tyler, "you haven't seen an Autobot yet? Then again you did just wake up. No probably not…"she trailed off immediately understanding her mistake.

"What are you talking about?" he pushed in confusion.

"Autobot's big giant robots that go _bang bang_," Cooper made his fingers into pistols again and pretended to fire at an invisible opponent.

Victoria caught the boy as he fell over the bar and righted him on the bedside, "Oh come now. There's no such thing as giant robots," she scolded.

"Robots?!" Tyler started suddenly, "Like building size robots?"

"Yeah, how did you know?" Anna asked suspiciously.

"I-they're here? Why-Where?!"

Anna was beginning to feel worried by the frantic tone of his voice and widening of his face in unprovoked fear.

"You just met one. Ironhide was the grouchy wannabe-cowboy who just walked out," she told him cautiously.

"You can't be serious Anna. He was an ordinary man not a fifty foot tall robot," Victoria added while playing with Cooper's hair.

"It was a hologram made from matter. His real form was parked outside."

"Anna please. I know you like stories but that's just ridiculous. I didn't take you for someone who would get reality and imagination mixed up," Victoria said with a laugh.

"She's not lying," Tyler said so darkly that Victoria's smile fell, "Why were you with that _thing_? You should stay away from them."

Anna bristled, "It wasn't by choice and who are you to order me around? I'll stick with whoever I want to."

"Anna please," his anger faded in an instant and was replaced by the look of a desperate man, "don't go near them again."

"Um, Ok," was all she could manage against the strangeness of his voice.

"Anna tell me a story!"

Victoria tried to steady Cooper as he bounced over her legs and grabbed aholt of Anna's arm. She turned from Tyler's distraught gaze and looked onto the boy's puppy dog eyes.

"Well-" she started hesitantly.

"Please!! I can't go to bed until I hear one!"

She took a side glance at Tyler then sighed.

"Ok I guess."

"Can there be chickens in it? I really like to eat chicken."

Anna scrunched her face up in annoyance, boys and their stupid food, "Ok. Well," She drew on an old paper she once had to make for English and spun an awkward story from there.

"There once was a man who was partially blind and loved chickens. He loved them so much that he owned five of the mangy creatures and treated them like pets. He even called them by name."

"What where their names?" Cooper asked enthusiastically.

"Um, 'Hide, 'Sides, Grumpy, Dew, and spike," god what happened to her imagination, she groaned inwardly. She was not good at spontaneously coming up with stories; she was used to having weeks or months to plan a plot and its characters.

Cooper laughed at the ridiculous names and Victoria lifted an eyebrow, "Chickens named Grumpy and Spike?"

Anna rolled her eyes and continued, "Now the old man lived in a village that also had two boys who were known for pulling pranks."

"A personal experience I take it," Tyler added as he slowly came back to the present.

"Boys will be boys," she shrugged then continued, "So of course they found the old man as a prime target. Do you know what they decided to do?"

"Tell me!" Cooper coaxed.

"One brother distracted the old man," Tyler continued before her, "And the other one snuck around to the back with a big basket."

Anna smiled and picked up after him, "He then stuffed the chickens in the basket and replaced them with turkeys."

"Turkeys?" Victoria snorted, "Honey are you sure you're feeling all right?"

Anna smirked, "Who knows."

"Then," Tyler continued, "When the old man went back to check his chickens he called their names and heard a strange gobbling sound and thought they might be sick."

"Then," Victoria added deviously, "He felt the turkeys and said 'My how plump you have gotten!'"

Cooper felt as if he had to add his own point to the story, "All the better to eat you with!"

All three of them couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

Barricade had found the girl not even an earth hour after beginning his search. Unfortunately for him, she was resting far out of reach in the Autobot's medical bay. He knew Ratchet's sour reputation and decided it would be better to lie and wait, especially with their top weapon specialist standing guard just inside. Whatever she possessed had to be something alien. No human artifact could have produced that much energy in one outburst unless they had dropped an atomic bomb, but this had been much more controlled, and much less devastating, he hopped. The after effects from the burst of energy were still vague; the harsh pulling in his true form's chest cavity was the most apparent problem.

The woman's current position only strengthened his belief that she was the one who caused all of his pain, the ripping sensation in his spark and the head splitting overload in his CPU. That power was something related to his people and he wanted to find out what it was, then when he was done with her he would tear the organic apart piece-by-piece and make sure the human suffered for causing him pain.

He wanted to scan her biosigns and commit the small amount of electric energies all creatures gave off to memory so she could always be easily found. Unfortunately he couldn't scan or read any chemical levels with his real form so far away. All of his more sensitive instruments he was so used to having access to at all times was gone from his mind's current surroundings, rendering him as blind as a human. The sensation heightened a sense of paranoia and put him on immediate edge.

No, he would have to wait. As the humans for once so wisely put it, patience is a virtue. Barricade knew all about patience, he was a hunter after all, who was notorious for leading his prey into a well staged, well isolated trap that rendered his victims helpless.

He had analyzed the organic, trying to commit every useful detail to optical memory. She didn't look as much like mikaela as he had first thought. Upon further scrutinization he realized she was shorter and her face was more round, she bore brown instead of green colored eyes, and she possessed a far lighter pigment than the obnoxious Ladysman217's mate. All of the slagging humans looked the same from far away.

It didn't take long after the organic had woken up for the hulking mech to carry her off, and even more laughable was when he allowed the human to enter a building escorted by nothing more than a mere male human. Barricade had formulated a plan just in case he needed to steer her off into a secluded area before she could return to the Autobot but to his malicious delight she did all of the work for him. The woman had cornered herself off into a small room with only one exit; organics were such simple creatures with little intelligence.

This disgusting female human had not only resisted him but it had even lashed back at him out of anger and not fear. He couldn't help but recognize a taste of the energy from before zip through his fingers upon contact with her skin, though at a far more minute level. Sensors or not, it was impossible not to miss the hair rising amount of electricity she gave off at his touch. He felt the electric impulses pass flash through his fingers and crawl across his skin searchingly, and equally as well he could see energy pass from his hologram and wash over the woman's skin in a short burst. What had the fragging female done to him?

He had _not_ counted on being attacked by a human's common beverage dispenser. The cursed machine snapped his concentration with by shooting him with green projectiles that burst open with fizzy liquid on contact. Strained already from over taxed use and drained from power significantly, his hologram faltered and his mind was thrusted back into his body without gaining a lick of information from the human.

His senses came back to him alarmingly fast causing his vehicular form to shudder and in turn caught the ever 'observant' Prowl's attention.

"Finally ready to talk?"

Barricade remained silent, playing the dumb vehicle that couldn't speak. His hologram had been in use for so long that nearly all of his reserves were depleted. He hated to admit it to himself but his systems needed to recharge badly. The stagnant energon churned in his systems like acid and many of his systems were already beginning to fail across the grid. His necessary functions were alarmingly close to shutting down. If the slagging Autobots didn't give him some energy soon then he would die a prisoner, pathetic.

He might not have been as prideful as other Decepticons, he knew when a fight was lost and fled to live another day, one of the few things he wholly agreed upon when it came to Starscream, but he found it hard to digest the idea of dying a lowly prisoner. He would rather go out fighting as a warrior in battle than wasting away in a brig. Frag those Autobot's if he didn't try, he would get out or die trying. He had a good feeling that woman was his ticket out of there.

Heavy footsteps alerted the 'con and Prowl to the leader, Optimus Prime himself, who walked into the brig causing both of them to look up in alertness.

Barricade had never seen the Prime up close before, only a few times but miles across the battle field. He at least knew the Prime was dangerous, he was no fool to think just because it was a pathetic Autobot that the leader would be suddenly so merciful. No he could see the slight resemblance to Megatron in this giant mech; they were brothers after all, a well known fact among both factions.

Optimus turned to him, placing the full ferocity of his optics upon the hunter in disguise, they were stern and foreboding.

"Decepticon, Designation Barricade. Transform so we can talk face to face."

Grudgingly, he complied and transformed into his bipedal mode. His transformation usually only took 3.2 seconds but it took him nearly eight seconds to shift through agonizing pain as every gear and joint groaned in protest. A few sparks flew from transforming cogs as wires overheated and shred. Yet the slowness was the only sign of weakness he showed to the leader. He held his grunts of pain by numbly locking his vocal processesors and stared Optimus Prime right in the optic with his scalding red orbs. Those fragging Autobots were going to pay for everything.

Optimus didn't waver from the 'con's glare, much to Barricade's dissatisfaction, though he would have offlined himself right then if the enemy they were having such a hard time to destroy possessed such a weak leader that would be afraid of a simple hunter behind bars. A leader he once served indirectly under and not once met. Never again would he make that mistake.

"Will you answer all of my questions truthfully as possible?"

What Prime said was a statement, Barricade knew, but the patient leader waited for him to answer anyway. The thought that he was giving him a false sense of choice only infuriated him more. When the police cruiser said nothing Prowl stepped forwards and placed himself next to the Prime.

"If you comply, we are willing to give you energon and medical treatment. Judging by your current condition, I average you have about an earth month or a little more left. I would wisely take this offer if I were you."

Barricade glowered at the tactician, his attention fully focused on the weights of the prize. His life for information, either they take it or he keeps it to his grave, whatever it was they weren't going to get it. It would likely be old information about the Decepticons and the human girl, but if they wanted to know anything else beyond that he would truly have no answer. These Autobots were known for at least keeping their word…most of the time. If he complied with a small amount of information then possibly he could get out with relying very little and still gaining the energon he needed to repair his systems and aid in strengthening himself for escape.

"Very well," he finally growled out, "What are your queries?"

"Where is Megatron?"

Blunt, to the point, Barricade was alarmingly suspicious of his lack of tact. But then again when dealing with someone already caught, there was really no need to continue any formal charade.

"I know not," He ground out.

Prowl addressed him sharply but mono tonely, "Not good enough."

Barricade ignored the white Charger, not even giving the Autobot the satisfaction of flickering his optics towards him.

"I haven't received a transmission in over two earth years. I know nothing of the Decepticon's current whereabouts or activities."Not entirely true, but not entirely false. He wouldn't call his failed contact with Starscream a true transmission.

Optimus Prime watched him intently for several seconds, "Then you do not know if there are currently any Decepticon's in the immediate vicinity?"

"No, I do not," he growled.

He watched him intently again, obviously pondering what his next move should be. Perhaps the leader would fall back into tactical charades.

"Very well. As promised you will be provided with energon and minimal medical treatment in exchange for your information."

Optimus glanced at prowl who looked back disapprovingly and the tactician obeyed an unvocal command and followed his leader out of the brig. Barricade could have snickered where he stood; the Prime was dumb enough to think the hologram was another Decepticon. Trust is one's greatest enemy.

* * *

Ironhide came stomping up to the building that led underground to the brig with such bravado that the emerging Prowl retraced a step and flickered into a defensive position briefly. The weapon specialist's blue optics were alight in a storm of electric blue and his bellowing shook the metal walls nearby enough that NEST soldiers vacated the area the moment they saw the irate mech.

"Your anger levels are unacceptable," Prowl calmly told him.

"I have every right to be angry," he boomed, locking optics with Optimus as he came out of the massive doors.

"Calm yourselves. Ironhide stand down," Optimus told his weapon specialist to calm down in the same manner as always.

"No I won't be calm. That punk ass had something to do with the attack, I know it!"

"I have already spoken with him and he knows nothing about another Decepticon. With his current and past position his claims seem to be true enough."

"But Optimus. You can't really believe he had nothing to do with it."

The Autobot leader shook his head, "I do not believe he is one hundred percent innocent. But as the human's laws wisely state, he is innocent until proven guilty."

"It's a Decepticon!" Ironhide's bouldery voice exclaimed.

"Which is exactly why I want you to take up another shift. Perhaps you can find out more than I could."

Ironhide heaved a sigh through his intakes, "Very well Sir."

"And Ironhide?"

"Sir?" he asked sharply in respect.

"I will discuss the situation about the human female, Anna with you at a later date."

"Sir?" He asked this time as a question.

"You'll learn in good time old friend. For now guard the Decepticon and try to calm yourself somewhat."

Ironhide huffed and rolled out his cannons, "I suppose traumatizing a Decepticon would help me relax a bit," he told him with a strained smirk.

* * *

**Whoops, it looks like Tyler's name got lost in a few translations. You might have seen the name Kyle randomly pop up a while back, that was a prototype name that was still buried in my notes. It seems my fingers decided to switch them on me when I wasn't looking. I went back through the chapters and fixed the mistake, I apologize for any confusion. A big thanks to 'BLUe-EyEd-NiNjA-of ThE UsA' for pointing it out!**

**As for the old man and the chickens…really don't ask where that came from because I'm not even sure myself hah, momentary insanity I guess though it serves its purpose all the same.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Sorry for the wait. This week's been busy not to mention I went to the rodeo. It was all wildcard rounds meaning it was several people's last chance at getting into the championship be it barrel racing or bull riding, only two can advance from each round. The poor Kroger guy lost a wheel in the wagon race and went flying, he's ok though. The wagon racers are usually 60+ so that's a feat and he got an extra loud applause for walking away from that one. I still didn't get me a Stetson grr, my head was smaller than the sizes they had in the booths so I'll have to go to a Cavenders, those are damn nice hats and I've got my eye on a skyline black one. (My heads not that small!)  
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**Disclaimer:** I do not own transformers, only my OC's

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The next morning Anna felt _sore_. It felt like someone had possibly steam rolled over her body and then didn't have the courtesy to finish crushing her. As if the stiff beds weren't already wreaking havoc on her back now she had angry Decepticons beating her senseless to compete with. Groggily opening her eyes, Anna was unsurprised to find she was in the human medical bay. She closed her eyes again and tried to find a few more minutes of sleep.

Then it clicked, _Tyler. _Her eyes darted around the room but quickly found him, literally right under her nose. His head rested on the edge of her bed upon crossed arms and she could see his steady breath pushing a stray wrinkle of fabric from her thin blanket back and forth. She was surprised Johnson hadn't forced him into a bed but found it kind of cute that he had slept there all night. It was strange seeing someone asleep, she thought it was impossible for a human being to look so calm. Across the room Victoria was as peacefully asleep with Cooper curled up next to her side and Anna couldn't help but think they were cute together, as much as she detested kids, especially that little monster.

She couldn't help the strange urge to touch Tyler's hair and found it a feathery consistency between her fingers, another foreign feeling. She couldn't help but wonder what kind of shampoo and conditioner the base had lent to him and wondered if he would share some, but that was just a stupid tangent, her friend was alive and so was she. Anna was up now and couldn't sleep so she gingerly got out of the bed making sure not to disturb him and found her shoes at the side of the bed. Her head throbbed viciously with the sudden movement and she became acutely aware of just how sore it was, that hit to the head against the vending machine must have left a nasty bruise.

Tiptoeing into her shared room was thankful easy since her roommates were fast asleep. She grabbed aholt of a clean pair of clothes and other domestic items she thought would be needed. She didn't think it was time for her monthly monster, her womanly senses weren't quite tingling yet, but her lower stomach was beginning to ache.

After taking a quick shower she changed into a tank top and shorts and stood at the wash racks entrance examining her split ends. When she got home she was getting a haircut, the last time had to be around Christmas, definitely time for another one. Anna sighed, giving up on the hopes for a trim any time soon and peered down the hallway that curved out of sight where she knew the back rec room was.

Her subconscious mind at flashed her warningly with of a vivid mental image of the Decepticon's hologram. His unnatural predatory eyes were locked onto hers with every intention of extinguishing her insignificant life. Anna shivered at the memory, feeling his grip and harsh treatment through the after effects of her sore body. There was an apparent purple and yellow bruise forming where she had been grabbed and poking it make pain flare up her arm. Against her screaming instincts, she followed down the hall with a stronger urgency pulling her in its direction, curiosity.

Cautiously, she cracked open the door to the recroom and found it fairly cleaned up. The broken mountain dew cans were gone and the stains were for the most part removed. The bullet holes in the walls had been freshly painted over and the ceiling that had been peeled away like a can lid by Ironhide was firmly welded shut. The thought of the mech created a fresh flare of anger but she tried to ignore her feelings and focused on the task at hand. They went through a lot of trouble to make sure the room was clear of evidence, she wondered why. Anna swallowed her apprehension as the Decepticon came to mind again, lightning never strikes in the same place twice, right?

With her senses on high alert, Anna walked up to the Mountain Dew machine and felt the normal slick plastic of its front. She trailed her fingers down the glowing green machine and could have sworn it shuddered. Anna pressed one of the dispenser buttons and waited. The machine rumbled and spit out an ordinary can that shot out and would have smacked her leg if she hadn't the sense or reflexes to step aside. The rogue coke can flew across the room and smashed into the wall where it burst open into a fizz of yellow liquid.

"I know what you are. You don't have to hide," Her instincts again told her she was being stupid and ignoring them went against everything she had been taught.

Anna backed up jerkily as the machine shuttered unnaturally. She could feel her heart leap into her chest as her body released a dose of adrenaline and she complied by going into flighty crouch. The vending machine twisted and unfolded in barely a second into a green and red robot that stood a good two or three feet above. It had four piercing red optics that were slanted viciously and added to its serrated teeth. It stood in a slight crouch with four taloned arms dangling dangerously at its side. It raised an arm and transformed it into something that looked startlingly like a rotating gatling gun and advanced on her while producing strange clicks and other mechanical sounds she couldn't describe. Anna backed away further and squeaked when she lost her footing and fell on her butt.

"Hey, hey, hey! Whoa! I'm sorry for kicking you yesterday!" definitely being stupid.

The earth born transformer halted but didn't drop its aggressive stance or remove the weapon from her face. In fact it waved the weapon before her in threat and clicked in its alien tongue. Since coming to the base and hearing stories from Sideswipe Anna had come to the conclusion that Autobots were the good guys with blue eyes and Decepticons were the bad guys with red eyes. But if anyone stood back and thought about it that was just stupid, both sides were living beings, no matter how strange the thought of sentient robots were, maybe like humans there was always an acception. This almost screamingly obvious Decepticon had rescued her from the clutches of a particularly vicious fellow con's hologram so she thought perhaps this one might be different.

"And, I wanted to thank you for getting rid of that…guy yesterday," she added hesitantly.

It glared at for a moment while its fresh processors slowly clicked then the earth born transformer cocked its head in a quizzical way and said something that came out as nothing but a high pitch scratch to Anna's ears.

"So…thanks," she added with a forced smile, hoping the creature understood English.

The con powered down its weapon with an audible whine and the cannon stopped spinning at the ready. It stepped back a couple feet giving her much needed breathing room. Anna rose slowly into a crouched position then stood up right on the balls of her feet, ready to run at any second. Her heart hammered against her chest wildly and she had to force herself to stay put. She felt a breath she didn't know she had been holding released rapidly and her lungs sucked in another vacuum of air before clamping shut again.

"So do you have a name?" she asked, grasping for something mundane that wouldn't spark a destructive wire and cause the creature to kill her. It made a loud series of mechanical sounds that made no sense to her what so ever.

"Um, how about I just call you Dewbot. You like that, yeah?"

_Awesome and original,_ she sarcastically told herself.

It cocked its vicious looking head in a dog like fashion and made more warbling sounds. Anna smiled, unsure of what it meant and hopped that it was acceptance, if the creature could understand her at all, "Dewbot it is then."

The robot turned it's hand over in a fluid motion and popped open a compartment within its wrist and produced a can of mountain dew. Dewbot held its hand out and presented the sugary coke to her.

Anna took it from his serrated servos, "Thanks," she smiled warily.

It watched intently as Anna popped the tab open and took a sip; truthfully she wasn't much a fan of the stuff.

"It's good. The best coke I've ever had," she said, feigning praise in hopes of keeping herself on its good side.

The coke must have been a sign of truce and she wasn't willing to break that so soon. Dewbot made a whirling chorus of chirps and she could have sworn she saw it smile through its sharp teeth before it transformed back into its place against the wall, now nothing more than a harmless vending machine, or so it seemed on the outside. She gave the disguised vending machine a pat and left with her peace offered drink in hand. At least she knew now the creature wouldn't kill her and her curiosity was well satiated.

When Anna arrived back in her temporary room she was surprised to find everyone missing from it. Their beds were stripped save for hers and not a trace of their belongings were to be found. In a panic she threw her empty coke into the cleaned out waste basket and darted out of the barracks. Outside the loud whine of engines rumbled through the thick salt tasting air and deafened the ears of anyone nearby. A private jet and a couple helicopters waited impatiently on standby as passengers loaded their generously donated suitcases of scant belongings into them. Anna instantly recognized her roommates and suddenly felt panicked when a painfully obviously situation occurred to her, what if Tyler or Victoria, or even Cooper was leaving too?

She began to jog towards a woman she knew when a flash of shock-green and red blurs zoomed around her. Anna jumped back as the two small vehicles circled around tauntingly with revving engines that she could barely hear over the powerful flying machines. They were the twins, she knew that much, and her last meeting with them had left anything but a good impression on her. Her brow furrowed viciously and she glared at the two vehicles for startling her nearly as bad as the first time they had met.

"What the hell do ya'll want?!" she shouted over the roaring turbines.

Skids and Mudflap transformed and preformed a strange attempt of an earth dance that was easier describe as a warped version of the moonwalk while making rapping sounds, "We sure scared yous!"

Anna could have taken their skulls and bashed them together then tied them to the top of a lamp post upside down but she didn't have the physical strength to do so. Instead she settled for cursing them out at the top of her lungs.

"Go the hell away you jackasses!"

They stopped their prancing and one gasped, "Bro she did not just call us what I think she did."

"I thinks she did. She went and called us jackasses."

"Uh what's a Jackasses?"

"I don' know. Look it up on the World Wide Web."

The green twin gasped when he finally understood the phrase, "Oh no she did not!"

"Oh, yous gonna get it now!" The green one warned with a pointed servo.

She couldn't remember which robot was which and at the moment she could frankly care less. Anna placed her hands on her hips and scowled severely at the mousy twins.

"I'm fixin' to saw that finger right off if you don' get it out of my face!"

She wasn't sure if her voice could carry over the engines but the Cybertronians seemed to have no trouble understanding her. The red twin made a vicious cat noise at her, "She thinks she's gonna whoop yah good bro."

"Oh yeah? I'd like to see the midget human try."

"_What!"_ Anna screeched in her mind and was ready to pull their wires apart or anything she could get her hands on. She would have done it too if it weren't for the powerful roar of an engine that sounded Sideswipes arrival. It wasn't enough warning for the twins though as the candy apple red Lamborghini slammed on its breaks and preformed a fluid one-eighty and smashed it's rear-end into both of them. The mousy duo fell over ungracefully, swearing in cybertronian that Anna's sensitive ears picked up even over the whining jets.

Suddenly, she was overcome by strange symbols dancing blurrily across her vision and she found it hard to focus. Her eyes twitched uncontrollably as she tried to blink them away and strange sounds began filling her head that sounded strangely mechanical but not in the way she had been hearing the other robots speak in their own tongue. It was much more in depth, she heard more tones and quickly changing decibels she didn't think were possible and there were so many different frequencies of them she thought her head would split in two.

"Anna!"

The angry voice of Sideswipe filtered through the chaos after it slowly began to dissipate and she began to think clearly again. Anna didn't know when she had crouched to the ground or when she had thrown her hands to her head in a vain attempt to stop the migraine. She was left short of breath and the blood flowing through her body could be felt vividly with every beat.

A loud engine revved and she looked up to see Sideswipe in his alt form with his passenger door hung open impatiently. Anna wiped the sweat from her brow and shakily dove for his interior and away from the wide-optic twins who were ogling uncomfortably at her. Sideswipe shut his door and Anna welcomed the nearly soundproof interior as she tried to quell her pounding head.

"What was that?" he snapped in a wavering tone that sounded borderline angry and concerned.

"Can we just get out of here? Please," she hated to beg but she wanted as far away from this place as possible.

Sideswipe complied without a word and sped around the waiting passengers and their waiting crafts. Anna ducked her head low and tried her best not to be seen, especially when he sped through the entrance gate and past angry guards.

The ride was quiet since Sideswipe never turned any music on so Anna numbly listened to the hum of his engine to pacify and stabilize her mind. He drove driverless and Anna couldn't help but think how odd it was to see a steering wheel moving on its own. In the center of it was that strange mask symbol and with it her mind pricked with questions. She peeled her eyes off the burning Autobot insignia and stared at the long straight road ahead.

It was strange to be riding in a car that was so low to the ground; it felt like she was almost sitting right on the asphalt. But it still wasn't stranger than sitting in a Lamborghini or even stranger, inside of an alien being. It was odd how he chose such a powerful and expensive car yet there were none of the bells or whistles on the inside. There was nothing but the bare essentials like a completely stripped down vehicle. She found herself longing for her tall pickup truck and with it her home again.

Her eyes trailed to the coast line that flew past them and she continued to gaze at the crystal blue water and tried her best to listen to the engine so not to let her mind wonder. She didn't know how long she had sat in a silent stupor when Sideswipe's voice finally came through the speakers in a low tone.

"How long did you have it?"

Anna looked at his dashboard quizzically, "Have what?"

"What do you mean _what_? The shard. How long did you have it?" he snapped.

Anna bristled, "Since I got here. Why?"

He answered her question with another, "And you didn't think to tell any of us?"

It was that damn shard again, that's all they care about, it seemed Sideswipe was no different meaning he wasn't really ever her friend. Oddly, she wasn't very surprised by his betrayal.

"I didn't know what it was when I got it and so what does it matter? That piece of bull crap didn't do anything useful anyway."

Sideswipe slammed on his breaks and sent Anna flying forwards into his dashboard since she never bothered to put her seatbelt on.

"Ow! What the hell!"

She pried herself off the dash and rubbed her aching forehead with eyes clenched tightly shut. She felt her eyes beginning to water from the excess whiplash that sent tendrils of pain through her already throbbing and bruised back head.

"Get out!"

The passenger door swung open and his seat flipped over to tump Anna ungracefully out into the sand before she could even attempt to follow his snapped demand. His door slammed shut and he revved his engine angrily before shooting off down the road.

"Fine then! Just leave me here you asshole!"

She fruitlessly picked up a clump of white sand and dead grass and chunked it as hard as she could at his retreating form already a mile down the road. There was no stopping the angry tears from spilling down her cheeks and with no one to watch she allowed them to flow freely. Anna crouched down at the side of the road, hugging her knees to her chest, and cried for all she was worth.

* * *

_-The Brig-_

Barricade could have laughed for the Autobots stupidity. Not once did they ever think the intruding hologram was him and that error in processing was nothing short of pathetic. But he was far too angry to be laughing anyway. The lumbering fool that was the Autobot's weapon specialist had been glaring and antagonizing him for the past twenty hours. Ironhide had obviously been in a sour mood before taking up guard duty and Barricade felt oh so honored that the mech had decided to take his agitation out on him.

On the upside, at least he was recovering strength. The Autobots had made good of their word and he received medical attention from a grouchy Ratchet and a fresh cube of energon, though it was a disgustingly low grade and a putridly small amount. The medic was silent the entire time he repaired him from within the cell but the tension in the tiny room was so thick an organic could have swam through it. At least his joints only creaked a little when he moved now and only a small ach followed, in time that would fade.

Barricade had thought all humans were equal in their stupidity and irritating ways but he was quickly learning that one human in particular, Galloway he called himself, was quickly standing out and working his way up on his termination list. Several hours after his brush with the human female the preposterous liaison came storming in thinking he was far superior to a Cybertronian. The weakling was flanked by human guards and Barricade couldn't help but think how laughable the fruitless need for them was. A true leader could fight for themselves and they surly weren't as weak as a human. As pathetic and whimsical as Starscream was, even he could fight his own battles. If Barricade could get just a servo through the bars he could squish the creature to the ground in a pile of messy organic parts much the way humans would crush an insect.

The pitiful creature began demanding where the phantom Decepticon was and what its motives were. Naturally he had no answer and merely told the fleshling he didn't know anything since his communications hadn't been working for over two earth years and he stuck to the story anytime he asked something new. Barricade grew increasingly infuriated with the fleshling as they began going around in circles but he didn't raise his voice, he merely replayed in the same nearly monotone fashion with the same answer every time and relished in the perturbed creature. Galloway's face had turned red and his voice rose in pitch with his aggravation until Barricade was certain he had reached the same frequency of a female human.

Galloway's attempt at threats were pathetic and hollow, he promised to rip him apart piece by piece and left with a final note with his brow so furrowed Barricade was surprised his eyes didn't sink back into his cranial, "Maybe you'll talk after we see just how you tic."

The stupid maggot wouldn't have the guts to even touch him; Barricade could see it through his increased perspiration and the nervous gulping of his throat. His heart rate was accelerated beyond normal parameters and his body was stiff, all signs of pathetic weakness.

Ironhide stirred from his standing position and pivoted to face the exit, obviously looking antsy about something. His facial plates turned into a more severe scowl than previously and Barricade evaluated his tightening posture.

"I didn't know pink was becoming a popular color among mechs."

Ironhide turned on the prisoner and shot him down with electric blue eyes, "What the frag are you babbling about?"

"Try checking your back struts, bit-brain."

Ironhide crossed his massive arms and silently preformed a diagnostic test to make sure the 'con hadn't done anything, not that he was capable of anything behind bars. His scans took only seconds and they came up empty save for a few problems he already knew existed. Earth's flimsy materials were anything but substantial but at the moment it was all they had to work with, a problem that was rightfully over taxing Ratchet's stress levels.

"There's nothin' there yah glitch head."

Barricade chuckled darkly, "Why don't you try physically looking?"

Against his better judgment, Ironhide twisted himself around to try and glimpse his back but the build of his frame made seeing over himself impossible. Fortunately the newly constructed metal walls were pristine and shinned enough that he could see his reflection in them. Sure enough nearly right smack in the middle of his back was a splatter of pink paint. His optics took on a brighter hue and his engine revved angrily.

"Those little punks-" he trailed off into his processor, trying to catch himself while in front of a prisoner.

Barricade was grateful that the mech's attention and anger was finally directed elsewhere. An uncomfortable throb that had been steadily pulling on his spark suddenly gave a painful tug that could have taken the hunter to his knees if he hadn't already been sitting down. Barricade ground his serrated teeth together and struggled to relieve the impulse to clutch the armor just above his spark. The sensation was odd, alien. His scans showed that nothing was wrong with his body besides the repairing systems. There was no sensible explanation for the spark wrenching feeling that threateningly flooded his chest.

Without warning the fuming Autobot snapped his head up and stared at the roof, no doubt receiving a transmission. Barricade didn't think the mech's features could become any angrier but he managed. Ironhide's engine growled so loudly that the soldiers loyally guarding from above unglued themselves from their poker game and pressed their noses to the bulletproof glass. Before Barricade could make a snide remark the Autobot peeled out of the brig faster than he thought the old mech was capable of.


	15. Chapter 15

**As always I give a special thanks to my few but powerful reviewers!**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own transformers

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_-The Beach-_

Usually she loved the heat, the radiating warmth it gave off and the comforting sensation it brought to her skin, but after tromping slowly through the thick white sand under a sun unshadowed by clouds; she was just about ready to dive into a tub full of ice.

It didn't help that her throbbing head never subsided and the growing pain in her lower abdomen was slowly increasing, the heat did nothing but amplify her discomforts. Anna rubbed her stomach uncomfortably and walked slightly bent over. Sweat poured down the back of her neck and she could feel her soaked tank top sticking to her skin, itching profusely.

After what now seemed like hours ago, she had begun walking along the beach with no destination in mind. Her head was too filled with cursed thoughts of the Autobots and absurd conspiracy theories welling in her mind to think about where she was going. She was simply pacing and fuming over Sideswipe, something she was quickly finding to be a mistake. She couldn't remember which way the base was and for all she knew the island was completely deserted, except for that one rich bastard she had passed with Sideswipe, then again he could have been another government official for all she knew.

The sun was beginning to set into a fiery display of orange and red that cast long shadows against even the smallest blade of grass. Anna squinted her eyes against the glowing orb that she was greatly coming to resent and sought shelter behind the shadow of a dune. She plopped her already itching body down upon the prickling sand and held her head between her knees to keep from losing her nonexistent meal which had been long digested the night before. She couldn't help but dry heave a few times as her body attempted to remove whatever was causing the pain. Her head spun uncomfortably but sitting down had fortunately quelled the lightheadedness if only a little. To further dissipate the pain she laid down in the hot sand, closing her lids tightly, and threw an arm over her eyes to block out any light.

* * *

_-The Base-_

Tyler woke up in nearly a panic when he found Anna was not where he left her. He lumbered around the infirmary on his crutches making quite a ruckus, asking everyone he could get his hands on to tell him where she went. There was hardly anyone in the large empty room since most had been signed out and sent home, so the nurses said. A perturbed older woman who had been changing out the I.V. of a training accident victim tried to calm him down and force the young engineer back into his bed. Her persistence only agitated him and ended in a yelling match. Johnson stormed from his office and tried to forcibly pacify Tyler but the distraught man would have none of it. It was only Victoria and Cooper who had managed to calm him down after several words of encouragement.

Tyler was beside himself, not only had she slipped out right from under his nose. But he had slept well into the afternoon without meaning to in the uncomfortable position over the bed that left a nasty crook in his neck. He promised himself that he wouldn't let her get hurt again, and especially not by the robots. He wasn't entirely convinced that what came out of her lips was true, giant robots the size of buildings that could transform into vehicles and make perfect human holograms out of matter. It just simply couldn't be real, Johnson did say she hit her head; perhaps she hit it too hard. If those things were really back, the simple, bloody minded robots he knew with their glowing red eyes, they would all be dead by now. He knew.

Instead of pacing around the infirmary like a madman he had left to physically search for Anna, which was how he now found himself wandering the halls of a ridiculously large building. He couldn't even really call them halls; they seemed more like shoots for oversized aircraft. Why the military would need something like a hall so large was beyond him. Did they pull space shuttles down here on their platforms before launch?

Speaking of aircraft and space shuttles, Tyler was itching to get his hands on something that flew, or a component of a craft. There was nothing that relieved his tensions or took his mind off things like tinkering with a beautiful flying machine to make it run better, faster, and stronger; all with his own hands.

His crutches clacked noisily down the empty hall in absurdly loud echoes that were only interrupted spontaneously by soldiers passing by on their own business. He found their uniforms curious, NEST, he had never heard of such a branch in the military. The soldiers who passed him merely nodded or gave an apologetic smile toward his condition, no doubt thinking it was some kind of war wound. Hell it was a war wound and not one he was particularly proud of. The doctors said he would be able to walk on his own power again with therapy and practice but it would always be a hindrance. He dreaded once his leg was decidedly healed up, the military would honorably discharge him barely after his carrier had begun.

His face must have shown his desperation because a soldier finally did stop in the hall to confront him. He was mistaken however when the short, lanky man opened his mouth.

"You sorry sob. Let me guess, you're the guy who lit Mr. Bullhide's temper. I heard you nearly lost yer leg in that crazy Autobot's training exercise."

Tyler's brow furrowed in confusion, "I think you have the wrong guy man."

The soldier laughed in a hollow chuckle, "Oh you don't have to hide your aggravation. I hate them all too. Did you head that Swiper or whatever the hell his name is went AWOL again? I swear our government is losing more control over them every day."

Tyler had no clue what the stick frame of a man was talking about and he was taking away time from searching for Anna.

"Uh, sure man. I feel the same."

"There you go don't hold it in. We need to speak up or nothing's ever going to change for the better. Here take this paper and give the number a call. Besides there was some dude who wanted a guy described oddly like you to have this. I have it memorized so if you're the wrong guy I can just recite it."

Tyler took the flimsy piece of ripped scrap paper that seemed to have once belonged to a college ruled sheet and vaguely noted the calligrapher numbers that were written with the long hurried strokes of someone who wrote in cursive more often than per usual.

"Thanks. I'll defiantly look into it."

"No prob. Catch you later than. I hope that leg of yours heals up soon."

The soldier waved goodbye cheerily and once his back was turned Tyler crumpled up the note and stuffed it into his front pocket so he could throw it away later. It sounded like some mini pot luck political group made up of a bunch of ill informed soldiers with vague views of what they were really discussing.

His crutches continued their irritating, clacking pursuit down the halls until a particularly loud bang had his head snapping towards a nearby door followed by a very irate bellow that trailed out into the halls with the magnitude of tumbling boulders.

"What do you mean he just took off?!"

Curiosity got the better of him and Tyler crept up to the slightly adjourned door and peered through the crack. His heart rate picked up immensely and his eyes widened in terror. Inside was not only one but four giant robots. One of them was a particularly tall machine that rose well above the others and was painted a striking mix of blue and red.

"Jus like we says! He jus grabbed her en' took off!"

The speaking robot had to be the ugliest thing Tyler had ever seen in his life. A golden tooth-like structure hung loosely from its mouth and its appearance reminded him of a dirty mouse.

A lime-green robot made an almost animalistic like growl that sent the twin looking robots backing away behind the overly tall one.

"The human securities are deplorable! This is the second time that woman has been stripped from my care right out from under my olfactory sensors and I have yet to evaluate her after the Decepticon attack!"

Tyler was about to turn and run in the other direction when the tall robot spoke, his voice was petrifying and shook around the very air he breathed in such a way that it frightened him stiff.

"Calm yourself old friend. Ironhide is en route as we speak to track them down. When they return, sufficient punishment will be given and you can examine the human female for abnormalities."

The neon robot grumbled in displeasure again, "He is en route without backup and he knows simply taking off like he did is a youngling move," then his voice took on a more solemn tone, "Sideswipe is usually the sensible one of the two but he has become increasingly unstable. I fear if his twin does not land soon, far worse acts of desperation await us in the future."

"That be why he tooks the human girly!" the small mousy red robot shouted in realization.

They all turned to stare at him and the neon 'bot spoke again, "What do you mean Mudflap?"

"He means," the green one stated for him, "Sideswipe is usin' the girly as a anchor or sum then."

"A substitute," Mudflap added with a nod.

The lime-green transformer stared at him with a baffled expression.

Loud clanks of metal entered the massive room from an area or door Tyler couldn't see and a black and white robot came jogging up to the others, taking large amounts of air through its vents in loud whooshes.

"Optimus Sir," it sharply saluted.

"At ease. What is it soldier?" The tall robot commanded.

"We have confirmed protoform pods minutes from breaking the atmosphere."

"Do we know who they are?"

"Negative sir."

"I will inform the humans and we will dispatch at once. Autobots transform and roll out!"

Tyler thought he had seen it all, talking robots who were speaking in a military fashion about insubordination or another issue, then they changed. All five of them folded down impossible flexibility and twisting gears into cars. They turned into cars, he couldn't believe it.

* * *

_-Anna-_

Dreams were incoherent things that never made much sense and most of the time she forgot them even before breaking from the fog of sleep. Every now and then she has one of those dreams that were hard to forget, for whatever reason they just seem to stick where others don't. Anna never considered her's normal, most people talked about dreams that involved people they knew or stressful situations they were dealing with in their life that their mind created new scenarios for in rem sleep and oddly they remembered most if not all of their dream. When Anna visited that realm of foggy subconsciousness where nothing was ever vivid or made any sense, there was never anything familiar in them. She never revisited people she knew in her dreams or relived places she had been to.

Instead she would dream of being able to flap her arms vigorously and shoot up into the air with no source of aid and nothing around her. No ground or sun accompanied the sudden weight less feeling and there was no truly blue sky, everything was usually black and only the important things that seemed matter at that precise moment were vivid; like the way she felt. Everything could fall to the pit of her stomach where the weight less feeling bubbled there like a swirling cloud and she could feel her arms pumping effortlessly through the void with no wind passing over herself. Her unconscious mind didn't question the phenomenon and easily accepted the idea. She had no rational thought in this place so she didn't question the feelings or the situation any further than what her bare instincts were telling her.

The dream ended without a climax or a dramatic ending, she just simply woke up to the black void behind her eyelids and was suddenly aware, back in her conscious brain. Now that she was awake, Anna was able to remember the dream and immediately scoffed mentally at herself, such absurd and dumb dreams did nothing for her and she wondered why she had them at all. The slowly awakening bliss still partially fogged with sleep was rudely interrupted by a loud booming sound that cracked like a firework and came as inconsistently as thunder. Perhaps that was what woke her up.

Anna's eyes flew open to her darkened surroundings and immediately felt uncomfortable in her sandy bed. The white grains itched terribly against her surely sun burnt skin and her tongue felt like a swollen brick in her mouth. The air around her cracked again like a whip and she turned her dilated eyes already long accustomed to the night towards the sky and felt her jaw fall open and a gasp of awe sucked in past her lips. Falling to the earth in a fiery ball of rock was what appeared to be two meteors careening towards the earth. Debris fell from the objects and disintegrated in the flames to leave trails of grainy substance behind them that disappeared into the night sky.

She watched as the two meteors zoomed well beyond her sight and impacted the earth with several mighty concussions. Dirt and sand erupted into the dark sky and she watched as the objects bounced several times into the air and back down to earth like skipping stones as they tore through the island's soft surface. Anna climbed over the dune she had been taking shelter behind for however long she had been out and watched as the objects finally came to a stop beyond her view. The night became silent again and she couldn't help but notice the breath she had been holding growing stagnant in her lungs.

Anna scrambled from her spot, ignoring the slight ache in her stomach, and made her way to the road. From the higher vantage point she could see the upwelllings of upset earth from where the meteors had impacted the ground and the final resting places where they no doubt laid. Her instincts weren't providing any form of warning or deterrence, perhaps her mind was too enthralled with the beautiful and terrifying display to care much of what they were feeling. Her eyes were wide and her mind was racing, what was the chance of something like this happening?

She allowed her feet to take her the first crater that was the size of a small car and peered in as she walked by, the earth was scorched and dugout. The meteor had made four monstrous landings that ripped through shrubs and small standing trees. The final crater was smoking with a white steamy substance that rose into the night sky and was illuminated by the moon and stars. Anna swallowed hard against her dry tongue, licked her lips in apprehension, and clamored over the foot high dirt.

She gasped when she broke the top and peered into the scarred earth. Steaming hot at the bottom was not something possibly described as a meteor. It was almost egg-shaped and strange symbols scrawled all over its shinning metallic form, symbols she recognized from when her vision seized up. This was something alien, Cybertronian. In a panic she tried to climb away from it but the loose dirt betrayed her footing and sent her falling harshly down into the torn earth where she landed on her shoulder. Anna gave a cry as her bruised arm smacked into the earth and sucked in a gasp of air. The odd steam obscured her vision and was disturbed slightly by her ragged breath.

Anna scooted up into a sitting position and warily watched the metal object for a few seconds, when it didn't move she stood slowly and approached it. She stuck a hand out and was about to trace a symbol on its surface when she felt the radiating cold chilling the air in close proximity to it. Deterred by the freezing wisps she withdrew her hand and clutched it to her warmer chest, maybe touching it wouldn't be so smart.

Nothing good could possibly come from such a massive alien object, and the symbols disturbed her. That shard had done something to her; something alien had afflicted her senses. Something that came from the same place as this massive object that had just careened out of nowhere through earth's protective atmosphere, arriving without a dent or scratch to be seen. She was about to leave it be, her instincts telling her to do so, when her muscles betrayed her and tensed on the spot. Her ears picked up that distinct sound that her subconscious knew before she could place coherent thought to it, the song of transformation.

A panel of metal along the smooth surface popped into the air and the rest of the pod followed suit. It fell apart and shifted in a complex pattern that for once she could almost fallow the path of. It was uncurling itself and producing arms and legs like a creature hatching out of its shell, except the shell itself was transforming into a creature. Anna scrambled out of the way, falling on her behind in the haste, barely avoiding a giant mechanical hand that came crashing down as the creature tried to support itself as it broke free.

A large portion uncurled from underneath itself, a head of some sort popped up inches from her nose and then the Cybertronian was finished with its transformation. It was unlike any of the transformers she had seen, it seemed almost scrawny compared to the others, though plenty big compared to her size. It was a colorless black and silver, a skeletal frame with no bulk or the kibble of an altmode to stick out from its body.

Anna dug her fingers into the dirt and felt gripped by fear and awe. Its massive optics flickered on and shone an intense blue upon everything in front of it. Never before had been so close to one of their faces and for the first time she could see the spokes in its optics turning rapidly as they flickered downward and focused on her. It analyzed her for a moment with those intense optics, she felt uncomfortable and insignificantly small.

She coughed a little to clear her throat and buy nervous time, "Howdy, welcome to earth?" she stammered.

The Cybertronian who she assumed was an Autobot, tilted its head quizzically and made a strange series of clicks and whirling sounds, speaking something in its own sophisticated language. A blue light erupted from, where she couldn't tell, and blinded her expanded pupils that were long adjusted for night use. A crawling sensation like pricking needles or small electric shocks raced over her skin and penetrated into her nerves like a flash of hot lightning. She was ready to jump out of her skin and run the other way screaming bloody murder.

"Hey cut that out!" she yowled frantically while trying to shield her eyes from the intense light.

If it wasn't on her command, but good luck the light went out, she wasn't going to complain. Her vision was blotchy with specks of floating white spots and a sickening feeling in her stomach slowly began to make a reemergence. The Cybertronian spoke again in its unique language and she could only guess what it was saying. It shifted its weight and freed a hand from its crouched position and Anna watched as its large digits came uncomfortably close, albeit slowly as if not to scare a small animal. They didn't travel far before freezing in midair as the unmistakable screaming echo of an object passing closely from above and at an impossibly fast speed snapped both of their heads skywards.

The object they sought was not where their ears and audio receptors told them. Since things traveling faster than the speed of sound were only heard once they had passed there was no time to act on the falling object that remained behind. Anna barely covered her ears when the missile blasted the ground, its vibrations shaking the bones in her chest, but thankfully from several yards away.

"What the hell?" she breathed out.

Without warning the Autobot swiped its hand forwards and enclosed around her middle in one fluid motion. Anna couldn't stop the short scream that burst from her lungs when the ground fell away beneath her feet in a wave of vertigo. The Autobot rose and used its free hand to clamber out of the crater then turned to watch the black object swooping around in the sky. Anna's eyes grew wide when scanning the flat, sandy and grassy shrubed land. Near the second landing sight, the ground shone oddly bright under the moonlight and bits of it rose high into the air like sharp crystals, as if the ground had been frozen on impact.

The Su-47 Berkut made a sharp one-hundred-and-eighty degree turn in the distance and pointed it nose directly toward Anna and her on looking captor. A loud roar produced by a distinctly powerful engine broke her sight from the oncoming fighter jet to a bouncing blur of red zooming perpendicular towards it.

"Sideswipe!" she hollered in dismay.

As he passed the second landing site it was then, she could see something else trying to make its way out of the crater. The transformer stumbled out of its impact point, naked looking as the one who clutched its hand gently around her, and fell to the ground with spraying sparks lighting up about its frame and flaring to the ground. The Berkut that was barley visible against the stars in its dark coating took a nose dive for the injured mech, or Sideswipe, she couldn't tell from her vantage point, and fired another missile.

Sideswipe trusted himself into the air, propelled by his transformation sequence and breakneck speed and twisted into his bipedal form mid jump. Long twin blades produced into his hands and he used them to slice the projectile from its path. The dangerous ballistic spiraled out of control and landed heavily in the dirt far from its intended target, bursting open and freezing everything around it in a prison of ice.

Sideswipe landed on the diving jet's nose and attempted to plunge his swords into its soft metal structure. The Berkut flipped itself upside down faster than Anna could blink and it easily dislodged Sideswipe who slipped without purchase and fell to the ground as dead weight. He plunged into the sand with a sickening thud that erupted sand into the air and obscured his form from view.

"Sides!"

Anna desperately tried to struggle out of her captor's grasp but of course his servos didn't budge a millimeter. The Autobot crouched over and dropped her a few feet from the ground. Anna fell uncomfortably into the hard sand, uncomfortably jarred her stomach that was beginning to hurt severely again. She scrambled into a crouch and looked up into the Autobot's blue optics.

It said something incoherent in Cybertronian, "I can't understand you!" she shouted.

It said nothing more then sprinted off towards where Sideswipe had fallen.

Though he had been a jerk just hours earlier and one of those damnitable aliens, Anna couldn't help but fear for Sideswipe. He had been there for her more than anyone else and she still couldn't help but think of him as a good friend, friends quarreled right? Maybe all Cybertronian's weren't all bad, he had after all given her the iPod as an apology then spent time with her when he could have done other things. He answered all of her questions about his species and their culture with patience and though she didn't understand half of it he would still tell her anything with a smile. Her chest clutched painfully against the walls of her heart as she waited to see his shining red self to rise out of the sand.

The Berkut turned itself right side up and swerved around the air. The powerful bird began shifting and transformed midflight into a massive transformer that fell to the ground with a powerful but graceful thud to the ground, spraying up a wall of sand. Its wings were displayed droopily down its back's sides and its form was formidably taller than the other two transformers it approached. Even from her distance there was no mistaking the piercing red optics that glowed through the darkness, one arguably larger than the other.

Anna tried to stand up but a crippling stab in her stomach sent her back down to the sand in a heap of grunting pain. She clutched the aching area that was coming back with a vengeance and doubled over. It felt like someone was sticking knives into her stomach and churning them around her insides like a blinder with no sign of stopping.

"That vasn't very smart Autobot scum!" The Berkut shouted in English with a distinctly German timbre.

Sideswipe sprung from the ground with his fierce swords slashing through the air and roared angrily at the Decepticon. The fighter sprung into the air on his thrusters and when Sideswipe leapt to meet his sudden change in position the 'con flipped two massive cannons over its shoulders and fired a barrage of twin lasers. The Autobot that Anna had just met dived into Sideswipe's side and rolled both of them to safety just before the hot lasers found purchase on the earth.

The con's face suddenly rotated to a completely new one that sported a red visor, "What are you doing you insignificant fools?! You think that pathetic display will do anything to me! Eat my fire!" His voice suddenly sounded sickeningly like Arnold Schwarzenegger.

A barrage from its cannons rained down and Anna could only watch painfully as the Autobots rolled away from each other, desperately trying to move away from the hovering Decepticon's attacks. The fighting trio was coming uneasily close to her wide open view point and she knew it was time to move. With her diminishing strength, Anna stood up tried to make a run for it, her adrenaline making it possible to push past her twisting stomach.

She was angry at the creature bearing down on her; there was no denying the itching feeling in the back of her mind that was trying to boil over. She almost wanted to turn around and face the Decepticon, tell him how pissed she was at it. Anna didn't know why she was so angry at it but the more she thought about it, the more relevant it seemed to become. Decepticons had been the ones to turn her life upside down and here was one right in front of her, scarring the hell out of her. Her fear was more powerful and she was able to keep her feet moving in the opposite direction but the speed of a human can only outrun so much.

The twin laser fire poured down, exploding the earth all around and blinding all sense of direction. Anna panicked and tried to run faster but her feet couldn't keep up with her frantic brain and she stumbled to the ground in a summersault, flaying sand all over her body and scratching her bare skin on the tough stubs of grass and shrubs.

A loud, almost sonic boom left her ears ringing but thankfully the laser fire was gone. She sat dazed on the ground and looked up just as two blue flashes streaked across the sky and slammed into the Decepticon, sending it spiraling away to the ground. Anna whipped her head around to find who had fired the shot and could had cried in relief at the sight of Ironhide lumbering towards the fight with his cannons singing. The blue of his crackling plasma glowed like swirling lightning in his dual monsters and glistened off his black paint job.

"Sideswipe hold him down!" he roared while charging forwards.

The red Lamborghini complied immediately without question and jumped on the downed opponent. Sideswipe had to dodge out of the way before ever intercepting jet transformer because a large laser shot out from its small crater. A massive tank sporting hefty scorch marks and bent plating rolled out into the open, crushing shrubbery under its treds. It lurched to a stop and fire another concentrated shot. The Autobot that Anna had yet to name dodged the blast and she was becoming worried if it had any weapons at all.

The Decepticon transformed back into a robot and Anna felt her brain churning stupidly, wasn't his alternate form a fighter jet? Another blast of powerful plasma deafened her ears when it shot out of Ironhide's cannons and missed the oddly agile Decepticon that seemed to almost dance tauntingly around the dangerous fire that exploded harmlessly behind it.

Anna had never seen any of the Autobots use weapons and the only ones she had seen were Ironhide's cannons and that was only because he loved to show them off so much. He had powered them up before and stuck them in her face and she had to admit they intimidated her a bit. That was the extent of their use during her stay but after seeing them in action, she was absolutely terrified of them now and was silently thankful he was on her side.

The Decepticon's face rotated again, back to the one that possessed one larger optic that Anna placed as looking vaguely like a monocle and produced a calm German accent, "Time vor plan B my vittle trigger happy vriend."

"Stand still you son of a scrapheap!" Ironhide bellowed.

Sideswipe let loose a vicious snarl and struck at the Berkut transformer that once again lit its thrusters and hovered in the air well out of reach.

His face turned back to the one that imitated Schwarzenegger, "The name is Blitzwing insect! Remember it because it's the last thing you'll ever hear before I-" its face twisted to a new one that reminded Anna of a vicious carving cut out of a pumpkin and finished yelling in a carefree voice, -express my feelings in song! The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the water spout-"

Anna was thrown when it began singing, singing, in its own voice a hacked up version of a nursery rhyme that was oddly in key and recognizable. Now she had seen it all. Ironhide growled unamused and fired at the Decepticon. Blitzwing stopped his serenade and cackled manically and jumped out of the way again to hover in the air.

His face swiveled back to his hotheaded, Arnold impersonator, "hasta la vista baby!"

He shot his lasers at Ironhide, forcing him to roll out of the way, and used the distraction to transform into a Berkut and shoot off into the night sky.

Sideswipe transformed and raced for the second arrival that was still trying to struggle to its feet and returned to his bipedal mode before he even made it to the injured mech. He fell to his knees and skidded to the others side fluidly. The other new comer trudged up to Ironhide while holding a damaged arm that looked painfully twisted, no doubt a casualty from so much missile fire. Ironhide regarded him with a nod and the mech returned it.

The weapon specialist then stooped down to where Anna was still sitting and the other Autobot watched curiously, "Are you damaged?"

She shook her head wordlessly, noticing the slight shake in her limbs from pumping adrenaline.

Ironhide stood back to his full height and clapped a hand on the other mech's good shoulder and they seemed to look at each other as if comprehending something Anna couldn't hear. The new Autobot stepped away and its body began to immediately change. Liquid metal secreted from its body and began forming new geometrical shapes all over its body and solidified into blue and white armor that bulked its form out considerably. Ironhide nodded again as if hearing some unsaid word and glanced over to Sideswipe and the arrival he was caring for. From her vantage point Anna could tell the other one had taken on a strikingly yellow paint job but it was so hunched over in the darkness that she couldn't tell much more.

The Autobot next to Ironhide transformed and folded down into a blue Porsche 911 that sported a single white stripe running down its middle and a spoiler rose above its rear. Anna gaped numbly at it, once again a Cybertronian had transformed itself in a matter of seconds into a car that would take her five life times to be able to afford.

Ironhide spoke briefly then, "Get in. Were leaving," and transformed into his GMC Topkick.

His harsh voice reminded her of when her dad became angry and it struck thin humbling cord in her. That tone was always able to pacify her anger or shamefully drop her head after being caught doing something wrong. Ironhide popped open his passenger side door in impatience. Anna forgot how absolutely massive his truck form was and remembered all over again why she was so envious of his altmode in the first place. His size could have rivaled that of a semi but with experience she sprung up and grabbed aholt of the handle on his ceiling and easily jumped into his cabin. She was supposed to be mad at him but at the moment she was dirty, tired, and thirsty. A bit of pride could be spared for a ride back to base.

His door shut without her and his guttural engine roared powerfully as he took off through the sandy earth. Anna marveled at how truly massive his insides were and how high up his form sat, it made her comfortable. He probably couldn't race Sideswipe or outrun a fighter jet but trucks like this were made for a different kind of power, they could tow just about anything over any terrain and take the worst beatings without ever breaking a sweat. She was used to vehicles like this.

Sideswipe got the other transformer to change into a spitting image of himself, a bright yellow Lamborghini that was painful to look at. Sparks flew behind it while trying to keep up with Sideswipe and they trailed behind at a slower pace.

Ironhide returned to the road and the ride instantly became much smoother and with it returned her stomach ache. The adrenaline had worn off leaving her drained and exponentially tired. The pains skewing her insides intensified back to their original strength and kept growing, not letting up no matter how many deep breaths she took. The blender full of knives returned and she began to uneasily rub her stomach and her face contorted into one of pain. Her limbs shook as if she were freezing but temperature began to feel suddenly hot, really hot, and sweat began pouring profusely down her neck. The air conditioner in Ironhide's cab noisily came to life and blew a steady stream of chilly air, a small comfort she was vaguely grateful for.

"What's wrong? You're internal temperature has suddenly risen to near dangerous levels."

Anna doubled over towards the air conditioner when a sickening clammy feeling crawled over her skin, "Hide, I don't feel so good."

"Hold on. We'll be back soon," he said sternly, as if speaking to a soldier who just said they were dying, encouraging them to hold out. A not so encouraging tone to her.

When Anna finally realized what was happening she was afraid it would already be too late.

"Hide stop!" She shrieked hoarsely.

In a panic the weapon specialist slammed on his breaks and Anna had to brace herself against the dash to keep from falling face first into it, while holding a secure hand over her mouth. She spared no time prying his door open that gave way uncertainly and darted off the side of the road and into the sandy grass. She couldn't contain it anymore and the bile rose sickeningly in her throat and she retched a pool of acrid liquid. With nothing in her stomach, the acidic substance that was supposed to aid in digestion was the only thing that could come out and her body was desperate to begin purging itself.

She spit the disgusting taste from her mouth and panted against her throat that burned viciously from the acidic attack. Shakily she got to her feet and vaguely noticed the Porsche rumbling patiently behind the massive truck, Sideswipe and the other vehicle slowed considerably but never stopped moving. She returned slowly to Ironhide and touched the first handle she could get her hands on, not caring that it led to the back seat, and was unsurprised when it swung open without her assistance. Anna climbed shakily into the truck and laid down across his cool black leather seats, curling into a ball and clutching her ravaging stomach. The air conditioner began fiercely running again and she was thankful for the small relief it brought.

Ironhide gunned his engine and took off down the highway with no regard for the speed limit, a law she had learned the Autobots were usually particular about. Anna really didn't want to cry but her stomach hurt so damn much. Knives being thrown into a blender, or a sharp object being skewed through her insides and then twisted perpetually were the only ways she could describe the pain. Salty water tried its best to leak from her eyes but her body was simply too dehydrated from the sun and a previous session that had left her exhausted to spare anymore of the precious liquid.

They stopped several more times for Anna to dry heave or spit up anything her stomach had to offer before quickly taking off down the black road again. Ironhide never once complained or went against her demands for a pit stop but she could have sworn he was becoming more and more tense under her fingers. His leather that was once at least a bit cool was steadily rising in temperature. She tried to close her eyes and focus on anything but the pain but it was simply impossible to ignore. His small words of encouragement were lost to her mind that could focus on nothing more than curling in on itself with tightly shut eyes. Sirens sounded in the distance, Ratchet's powerful search lights illuminating the road ahead of a caravan of Autobots and human vehicles.

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**I've been wanting to write an impact scene forever! When watching TF 07' I remembered how much I loved the arrival scene, it also plays my favorite score from the movie 'Arrival to Earth' during probably my favorite part in the whole movie. I hope I did it justice!**


	16. Chapter 16

**The chapters are taking a bit longer to get out lately because I keep making them so long, oops. But hopefully it's not too much of a negative since you get bigger chunks to read at a time.  
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**Disclaimer: **I do not own transformers

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The guards barely had enough time to open the front gates as the caravan of cars returned at alarming speeds. Ratchet cleared the way with his wailing sirens and led Ironhide and the twins into his medical bay. Ironhide came to a screeching halt and the yellow Lamborghini transformed into his bipedal mode without stopping and stumbled into a desk with a screeching grind of metal against metal as he slid down it to the floor. Sparks issued from his mangled body as Sideswipe tried to help him onto the medical berth.

Ratchet rolled into the room last and transformed swiftly. He came to the twin's aid and helped Sideswipe get his brother's leg on the berth then began simultaneous scans. His features locked into a tight face of concentration as the results fed back a stream of data.

Sideswipe couldn't help asking, "Will he be ok?"

Ratchet didn't waste any time, his hand rotated into a medical saw and he produced a soldering gun from subspace.

"His chest has partially melted into his spark chamber and one of his legs will need to be rebuilt," he replied without stopping. His medical saw bit into the metal with sickeningly loud squeals and sparks erupted into the air. The yellow Autobot's head rolled backwards and his dim optics flickered dangerously.

"Stay with me soldier!" The medical officer demanded.

Anna managed to stumble out of Ironhide and immediately doubled over on the floor with a tight arm around her stomach. The black mech transformed quickly behind her, mindful of the woman on the floor and stooped down to carefully scoop her into his massive palms. She curled into a ball on his uncomfortably hot palms and twitched uncomfortably as another relentless wave of pain stabbed her stomach.

"Ratchet, I know this is a bad time but something's wrong with Anna!" He said in a panic. His optics flickered to the twin slowly fading on the medical berth, mech fluid spilling over the metal table and staining the floor in a mixture of blue and yellow. Sideswipe had stepped aside to give Ratchet the room he needed, but stood by wordlessly, his optics shining a fierce blue. Anna lifted her head to see what was going on and was almost sickened by the sight, never before did she think robotic carnage could make her so squeamish.

Ratchet abruptly turned around and sent a quick scan over the woman that hardly took an astrosecond and left her skin tingling.

"Frag it," he cursed harshly, "I can't stop on Sunstreaker or we're going to lose him! Just set her on the shelf and try to bring her temperature down!"

Ratchet turned back to Sunstreaker and continued to pry away melted metal and delicately repaired ruptured fuel pumps connected to his spark chamber. Ironhide's spark pulsed wildly in his chest, he was a veteran of the battle field so sights like this one were nothing new to him, but he had never been put into such a situation before. He was not equipped to deal with a human youngling barely the size of a newborn sparkling who seemed to be offlining in his very hands, hands that had held many mechs, comrades, whose sparks had flickered out right before his optics. His concern for Sunstreaker was heavy as well. Both of the twins had trained under the old mech at one point and they had made their way into his old spark almost as profoundly as Bumblebee had, though everyone knew Ratchet would be the most devastated if they lost one of them.

Ironhide curled his fingers protectively around the girl who felt hot even against his metallic flesh. He would not let the youngling go without a fight; he wouldn't let her fade like the others. Acting quickly, he set her upon a human size bed, and pushing his worries away for Sunstreaker who was in the best hands possible, began searching for a way to lower her core temperature which was now an alarming one-hundred and two degrees. He didn't know very much about human terminology, only the basics he had been ordered to download. He maybe knew as much as the average human nurse.

Anna stared wide-eyed, completely fixated and unable to look away upon the grotesque scene she now had a perfect bird's eye view of. It was morbidly fascinating to watch Ratchet plunge through the Autobot's alien internals. Strange gears churned rapidly in an attempt to pump live sustaining fluids through the body and a few of them were stuck, desperately trying to push past the metal warped by heat. Wires flung out of place and sparked wildly, occasionally whipping Ratchet's arm and leaving a black scorch mark but didn't seem to notice them. His servos were caked in a bizarre blue liquid as he plunged into the chest cavity and she could only guess what he was working on since his large fingers blocked her sight. His features were concentrated and pulled into a sour expression that was locked into a permanent scowl.

Ironhide moved so that his massive bulk blocked her view but the saw's horrible screeching could still be heard when it started up again. He delicately lifted her head with his servo and placed an icepack behind her head. It was difficult to maneuver something so small in this form but he didn't dare transform and risk being in the way for even an astrosecond. Prongs protruded from his servos that were usually used for patch jobs in the field and tenderly maneuvered her body with their light and sensitive touches.

"Trashcan," she grunted out.

Ironhide's optics darted around as he accessed the web to figure out what the one word meant and found what she was asking for a few feet away near the end of the shelf. Using his prongs, he carefully lifted the small hollow waste basket fitted with a plastic bag and held it in front of her. Anna hastily grabbed it and bent over to dry heave into the trashcan. She dropped it at the side of her bed and curled back over the sheets. She didn't try to crawl under them because her body felt like it had been placed in front of an inferno and shut her eyes, she felt absolutely exhausted. Ironhide maneuvered the icepack back under her neck and offered words of encouragement. It was all he could do until Sunstreaker was back in the green and Ratchet could turn his attentions on the girl.

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Sleep came in blissful on and off cycles. The first time she awoke was because of a sharp prickling sensation in her arm. Apparently Ratchet had finished with the new arrival and was now working on her through his hologram. Through her mind was fogged by sleep, she still wondered what happened to the other mech. Did he live? Or did he die upon the table just below her shelf while she slept? The prickling sensation jolted her more awake. Her arm twitched but strong hands held it in place as an object pushed further into her veins. She turned her head to see Ratchet plunging a tube into her arm with a needle that was connected to a drip near the bed.

"Hey. It's ok."

Anna felt a heavy hand land on her opposite shoulder, it was Ironhide in his holoform, cowboy get up and all. She was really envious of his hat and hated to admit he had good tastes, she had always wanted a Stetson, though black was more her color than the granite gray one that sat upon his head. She thought it was curious he would choose gray felt when he seemed to favor black so much.

"How are you feeling?" Ratchet finally spoke.

"Like hell. And thirsty," she truthfully told him. Her mouth was dry as a brick and her stomach still churned painfully, though not as severely as before.

"Give her the glass on the tray." The medical officer nodded to Ironhide who was prompt to follow the order.

Both of them slowly helped her into a sitting position and Ratchet took the glass of water from Ironhide and pressed it to her lips. In embarrassment she grabbed the styrofoam cup and pulled it away from her mouth,

"Thanks but I can drink it by myself," she said with flushed cheeks.

"Are you certain? Ironhide asked.

"hhn, at least it appears some pigment is returning in her skin," Ratchet commented.

That made her blush even deeper, it was unsettling to have these two men appearing old enough to be her dad hovering so close to her even though they were only in a faux human form. She took a sip of the water and her taste buds immediately flared to life, suddenly she was ravenous for the liquid and gulped it down as quickly as she could.

"Not so fast. You'll choke," Ratchet warned and tilted the paper cup back so she was forced to drink slower.

When she finished the water off Ironhide took it and placed it back on the bedside tray, accidentally crushing it a bit under his grip. Anna breathed rapidly to replace the breaths she had denied herself to suck in the water and tried to speak between them.

"So, what happened?"

"You caught a stomach virus as the humans call it and I should detain you for a month for the way you treat yourself. Your body was long malnourished and severely dehydrated, furthering your stress levels until your body lapsed into shock."

Ratchet's blue eyes were fierce and he looked ready to make good on his word of detaining her. She couldn't help but melt under the severe gaze, "Sorry," she said softly in burning embarrassment.

His eyes grew softer at the defeat in her tone and when she didn't put up a fight against his judgment added, "I can't do anything more than give you fluids. Your body will have to do the rest of the work and fight off the virus. It's known as a twenty-four-hour-bug so it shouldn't last very long. Just rest until its run its course."

"Ok. Thanks."

She felt too tired to argue but she had to at least ask a burning question before she slept again.

"What happened to that other guy?" her voice trailed off uncertainly, she wasn't sure if she really wanted to know the answer.

Ratchet furrowed his brow angrily, "He'll live but his brother has another thing coming. I'll weld his aft so firmly to the ceiling; he won't be able to tell where earth metal starts and his aft ends."

She blinked in surprise but said nothing to comment.

"Just be sure to leave a piece for me. I've got a few things in my processor to say before I set him on cleaning and sentry duty for the next four joors," Ironhide growled back. It was a relief to hear him sounding like his usual self.

She was lying on her back and the sensation was uncomfortable since sleeping on her side was the norm but Ratchet would have none of it. He claimed her body would receive better circulation this way though she thought it was idiotic. Thankfully her body was tired enough to coax her into blissful sleep even with the awkward position.

_______________

Anna woke up several more times throughout the day-night, she couldn't really tell in the massive windowless room. Her body urged her to grab the trash can and throw up water that, though disgusting, was much better than retching up acidic stomach bile. Each time Ratchet would make her drink more water so she could purge whatever her body didn't absorb the next time she awoke. Ironhide disappeared at one point and she couldn't blame him. If a human can stand only so many puking sessions then an alien must find her body's natural purging system absolutely grotesque.

She awoke again but this time it came without the perpetual urge to puke. In fact her stomach felt satiated and calm, a tremendously welcome relief. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, grimacing against the stale taste in her mouth. She felt disgusting as well, her body itched from sweat and sand that had yet to be washed away and she knew her hair was an absolute wreck.

She vainly tried to comb it back with her fingers and ran them through the strands to try and separate the larger tangles. Thankfully, Ratchet wasn't around to force a drink into her hand so she got a chance to swing her legs over the bedside.

The moment she stood, regret almost instantly set in. Her stomach lurched like a spiky brick had been dropped to rest at the bottom of her gut but the pang passed quickly. At a slower pace and with a bit more care, she walked across the room and gripped the railings that protected her from falling over the edge. Peering over it she got a good glimpse of the medical bay below and the berth occupied with a strikingly yellow occupant. The lights were dimmed considerably but it was still easy to make out Sideswipe who sat by the nearly identical mech with his head bowed to his knees.

The mech, Sunstreaker they had called him, was rigged up to several beeping machines and ominous looking tubes stuck out from his body, more so into his torn open chest.

"Sides?" she called hoarsely.

The Autobot didn't respond and she felt a pang clench harshly in her chest that had nothing to do with her stomach virus. This Autobot that was so strikingly similar to Sideswipe was obviously important, very important to him. She knew nothing of the new mech besides his name and she wondered what his relationship to Sideswipe was. There was never a time that the exuberant mech told her anything truly personal, he mostly talked about battles and his endless pranks, making sure to dot on his ability to take the worst kinds of punishment and torture without so much as whimper of pain. He told her nothing could break him, yet here he was looking lost and completely devastated by the condition of one mech. She really knew nothing about him and his race, it made her feel even further away and insignificant to his kind, and especially to him.

The feeling of dried sweat and sand sticking to her skin was enough to drive her back from the railing. She searched for the stairs that would lead her off the platform and took them carefully one step at a time. Clutching the railing was a necessity as she trudged with a slight bent and unconsciously held her stomach that sent sharp stabs of pain anytime her foot hit the ground and jostled it. It felt like someone had beat up her insides and now she was suffering from severe bruising. She escaped the infirmary without Sideswipe so much as twitching a servo. It made her feel even worse and more unimportant to him than before.

It was dark outside with little more than a few flood lights illuminating portions of the airstrip for security reasons. She walked around them to avoid being seen by patrols but there was no denying the creeping dread that was slowly tightening her chest. She could vividly imagine the Decepticon as it had been the last time, giant and ominous against the dark sky. She could nearly see it with her mind's eye. The Berkut charged at her, powerful forward swept wings made for superior mobility made it even more menacing as its powerful turbines rumbled through the air, vibrating her chest. A compartment opened and a deadly missile bigger than herself locked onto her weak heat signature. It fired and she had nowhere to go. She had nowhere to go and panicked, in defense her mind conjured up a nameless, faceless mech that easily deflected the ballistic that simply vanished by his touch.

Without undergoing a transformation process the fighter jet became the massive Decepticon from before with its three faces spinning rapidly. Its arms were outstretched and it was freefalling with a menacing chuckle. The mech with no name or face raced to deflect the Decepticon from its trajectory towards her but he could never make it in time. When the insane flying Decepticon was mere feet from crushing her under its falling weight, the conjured image simply vanished along with the silhouette of another mech.

Anna's heart beat rapidly against her chest. Without meaning too she had stopped in her tracks and allowed her imagination to wander under its own will. She rubbed her eyes harshly and tried focus on her immediate surroundings rather than her imaginary one. Moving her sore body forwards again she managed to nearly make it to the barracks without another episode of lapsing into her made up world but a giant foot halted her advance.

She couldn't contain the surprised screeched that ripped from her vocals and glanced up warily to a pair of glowing blue optics. He winced and flew a hand up to turn down his audio receivers.

"Hey now cut that out. You're going to make be blow a circuit. What are you doing out here anyway? I thought all humans were supposed to be recharging at this hour?""

She had never heard this mech's voice before and it struck her as a sophisticated tone that somewhat irked her.

"What does it matter to you?" she snapped.

She had just been scared witless, was uncomfortable, in pain, and frankly she didn't have the energy to fight with this mech she just wanted to get inside and take a shower.

He bent down a little further and she was able to finally recognize him as the Cybertronian she had found in the crater who now transformed into a blue and white Porsche.

"Oh, I remember you. You're Ironhide's pet. Too bad though, I thought you would make a great one for me. I'm glad you didn't die. He's been in a fit ever since you began spewing organic fluids." He seemed to be talking more to himself.

Anna bristled, "I ain't anyone's pet so jack off," she hissed.

"Aww it's angry, how cute. I'll have to ask if ol' 'Hide if he'll lend it to me. Or should I just get one of my own?" He shrugged thoughtfully.

Anna purposely kicked his foot as hard as she could, stomach pain be damned.

"My name is Anna not 'it' and I'm no one's pet!"

"Can you say my name little human? Mi-ra-ge. Come on," he coaxed.

Anna hissed, kicked him again, and walked away with her chin sticking in the air while hotly muttering profanities as she went.

__________

It was odd seeing the room so barren. All of the beds save for the one she had been occupying were stripped bare and the only belongings in the room were hers, stuffed into the crack between her bed and the wall. Victoria and the others probably went home as well and that made her heart sink even more.

How dare they force her to stay behind, how dare these robots and the base officials keep her in this prison? She lived in America, a free land, if she wanted to leave then she damn well could. It was time to start searching for a way out, a weak point in the fence to crawl under or to hide away in a plane bound for her home state. She kicked the leg of her bed in frustration and snatched her toiletries with a forceful tug. The strap was caught and a few items flew from the bag and clattered to the floor. Anna picked them up and chucked them back inside with a heated huff.

After a hot shower that warmed her insides and cleaned her body, her mind was relatively at ease again. It was amazing what a little heat and water could do. Her stomach growled uneasily and she frowned after realizing how hungry she was. Ratchet had provided a drip that supposedly fed nutrients to her systems but it was still no substitute for solid food. Her stomach was still sore as all hell but maybe it could stand something that wasn't too extravagant.

She walked to the back room, finding the small task horribly uncomfortable. Every few steps she wanted nothing more than to plop down in the hall way and let her pain wracked stomach rest since that seemed to be the only way to quell it now. She was still thankful that it was merely an after sort of ache and no longer the devastating pain from before. The halls were quiet and her pursuit went unhindered by any soldiers since they were all asleep. Though the room seemed further away this time around than ever before, she finally made it and turned the knob to enter.

"Hey Dewbot," she smiled quietly.

She wasn't surprised when the guise Mountain Dew machine didn't so much as shudder and continued to the snack machine on its other side. She drew a few quarters from her pocket and slipped them into the machine. The short code she entered was connected to a bag of chips that was calling her name but frustratingly it got caught between the coil and the glass wall. She scrunched up her nose in displeasure and attempted to shake the machine to wiggle her prize free but the action proved too much for her exhausted stomach. She had to stop when sharp pain wracked her abdomen and she was finally forced to sit down on the floor.

Anna huffed and rested her head against the cool glass with closed eyes. A mechanical sound shifted her gaze to Dewbot who had opened a compartment at his side that produced a wire and attached itself to the side of the snack machine. She heard a high pitch chirp and the vending machine made a strange almost gurgling sound. Lifting her head away from the glass, she stared at the wires that shot blue sparks into the machine. The snack dispenser shuddered and all of the coils began moving by themselves, passing the small bags of food over the edge where they fell to the bottom of the shoot.

She reached through the metal flap and grabbed aholt of what she wanted before the entire machine spilled all its contents messily inside itself. The bags of snacks stacked all the way up to the top and pressed against the glass in a heaping mess. Anna couldn't help but snort silently as she opened her bag of chips.

"Thanks," She told Dewbot with her bag raised to him before biting into a crispy chip.

There was an odd chirping sound that he emitted before transforming. Dewbot brought one of his serrated servos to her shoulder and poked it harshly. He probably meant no harm, the poor thing didn't know its own strength around organics, but his menacing talon cut through her flesh and caused her body to jump away in surprise. Dewbot withdrew his hand sharply and spoke rapidly in Cybertronian and in his panic fell over onto his metal behind with a loud clang.

Anna sprung up, making shushing noises at the bot, the last thing she needed was for a bunch of soldiers to wake up and come crashing into the room to find a Bigfoot size Cybertronian that she still owed.

"It's ok. Look no big deal; it's just a little blood."

He warbled loudly again and shook his vicious head, his insect like mandible full of serrated teeth moved rapidly with its alien tongue.

"Stop it you'll draw attention. I'm not gonna die or anything."

True it stung like no other but after the stomach virus this felt like nothing more than a bearable prick. Only the skin was broken in a long gash since he withdrew so quickly at the sight of her welling blood and no muscle had been penetrated. Anna sighed and pulled her arm around to get a better look at the damage. Red liquid ran down her arm slowly and was already beginning to congeal. She tried to wipe away the viscous liquid but only succeeded in smearing it about.

Anna sighed at the transformer who stared stupidly down at her, his naturally angry set features made it hard to distinguish any other kind of emotion. She found it funny and pitiful all at the same time. Her stomach pinched in protest again when she shifted her weight upon her other foot. She thought perhaps it would be a good idea to just go back to her room and spend some quality time with her iPod and lose herself for a few hours in her book, that sounded like a good idea that was slowly becoming a little too enticing.

Anna was about to make good on her internal notion when Dewbot stood abruptly and reached out for her with his vicious claws. She gave a sharp screech in pain and panic as the 'con picked her up and threw her over his massive quadruple shoulders in a fireman's carry. How he knew that particular style, she left up to her imagination which conjured a bored robot searching the web. She kicked her legs uselessly in the air and punched his armor which only succeeded in turning her calloused hands red.

"What the hell do you think yer' doin'?! Put me down right now Dewbot!"

Dewbot ignored her violent behavior and began jarring her with his swinging gate. The transformer left the room where astonishingly not a single soldier had entered yet and walked with foot falls that were much quieter than she thought would be possible for such a heavy creature. Anna would have fought against him longer but the stomach virus had made her body too weak to struggle more than a few minutes. She exhausted herself and resorted to digging her nails under his shoulder plating and held on for dear life.

She thought it might be smart to scream for help when but by that time they were already out in the humid night air where not even that irritating Autobot could be seen anymore. He expertly stuck to the shadows and took a route that followed the backside of several warehouse. There was no telling where the Cybertronian was heading but it couldn't be anywhere good. Anna began to panic when she thought Dewbot might be kidnapping her. The burst of fear gave her limbs enough strength to begin struggling again but all of her thrashing attempts were in vain.

He entered a building that was strangely nothing but a square room made of metal that was over looked by a maintenance office. The entire floor lurched causing her to shriek in surprise but felt stupid when it simply slid slowly downwards.

"_It's just an elevator,"_ she reminded herself deep breath.

This meant Dewbot wasn't taking her off base so he wasn't technically kidnapping her, but then again by definition he was forcing her to come with him against her will. The walls slide by for a couple minutes until the elevator touched softly to a halt. Dewbot exited through a massive transformer size door into a hallway that was brightly lit and the whole interior was made up of metal.

Further down the hall it wasn't hard to spot flickering pink bars that a massive black and white creature sat behind. It was a transformer, Anna concluded, its slumped structure couldn't hardly be mistaken for anything else. She wasn't sure what to think; the alien was behind held behind some kind of flickering cell bars and Dewbot had purposely brought her to it. She wondered why one would even be held as a prisoner; did the Autobot's know about this?

The massive creature turned its head when Dewbot stopped before it. Anna felt her breath hitch when slanting, quad-red optics glared at them. Two large horns protruded from its head and the front of its car form stuck out proudly from its chest, all decidedly male characteristics. He sported some of the nastiest set of chompers Anna had ever seen, his serrated teeth looked deadly to the touch. Car doors protruded from his shoulders and shot out above and behind him and a curious slogan was written across his arm, _"To Punish and Enslave", _was elegantly written. She finally recognized it as the one that attacked her from before and caused the Allspark fragment to be melted into her skin. Dewbot had betrayed her, bringing her immobile like some sort of prize upon his shoulders to his fellow Decepticon.

Dewbot spoke to it in Cybertronian but the Decepticon didn't pay attention to him, instead he made a scoffing noise that gargled in his vocals. His optics set on her and Anna couldn't help but notice the strange feeling tug even stronger. His vicious teeth curled into a crooked smile and he laughed a deep mechanical sound that caused her heart to quicken.

"What are you laughing at?" she tried to say with a steady voice and failing miserably.

"You're insignificant race, insect." His voice was deep and gravely.

"I'm not the one locked behind bars and I hardly count as an insect you giant toaster," she snapped boldly back.

His optics shinned a dangerous and hypnotizing crimson red, "My designation is Barricade not toaster and you are incorrect. Your species is small and irritating, the definition of an insect."

Dewbot began speaking again in Cybertronian and the Decepticon glowered at it with irritation. The earth born 'con wobbled on his feet, jarring Anna on his shoulders, nearly hopping from foot to foot in a strange sort of dance.

"What-the heck is-he saying?" she made out through hops, "goddamn it-stop that!" The movements threw her already bruised organs around and it hurt like the pit.

"Something about you leaking fluids and dying," Barricade said casually.

"Well if-it can understand you-tell him to put me down before I blow chunks!" she snarled helplessly.

The Decepticon addressed Dewbot in their native tongue and her captor immediately froze, she sighed in relief then screeched when he flung her to the ground. In the panic Anna was able to reflexively brace herself with her hands and deter the brunt of the fall upon the concrete but pain shot through her left hand on contact. She sucked in a rush of air and rolled to her feet quickly to get her weight off of it. Anna shook the appendage vigorously with a hiss and flipped her hand over to the pink scars that were slowly fading. Apparently that area was still tender from Ratchet's hack job, alright he did a good job if her healing was this far along already but it had hurt like fire, and she knew what being burnt felt like.

"Thanks," she bit out, not really meaning it.

"I didn't do it for your benefit organic. You have something I want."

Anna frowned and knew immidiatly of what he spoke about. "If you're talking about the shard it was destroyed" She hoped her assumption was true.

"You cannot simply destroy the Allspark," he snarled, "Where is it!"

Anna barely had time to dodge a massive talon lashing out through the bars. Its pointed tip created sparks and squealed across the ground as he dragged it towards her. Anna hastily jumped to her feet but the blunt side of his digit bumped into her side, knocking her over again, and produced a massive shock of electricity that jolted down her body. The Decepticon withdrew in surprise, barely missing the deadly energy bars in his haste. The lights overhead flickered and the bars wavered, disorienting Anna who was trying to regain her vision that had become blurred and patched with white spots.

"What did you do?!" Barricade snarled as he clawed blindly in his cell.

"You're the one who shocked me!" Anna angrily responded in her defense.

Dewbot chirped and whirled madly then ran to the far wall where he transformed into a vending machine and not a moment too soon when she heard the loud foot falls of a transformer echoing through the massive room.

"Oi! What's going on down there! Only special personnel are authorized in this building!"

Anna's vision was just starting to clear and the horrible ringing in her ears was fading. A group of soldiers were coming down a staircase fully armed and the first one to reach her pointed his weapon to her face.

"What is the meaning of this?" a monotone-like mechanical voice demanded.

The soldiers halted and stared up past the young woman sitting on the floor.

"There was a power surge then we found this girl in here," one of them replied stiffly.

Anna turned her head slowly and found herself staring at a large pair of feet. Trailing her vision upwards she recognized it as the one who transformed into a white Charger police cruiser. She could see clearly small plates and cogs turning in his face that she usually never noticed from this far away as he frowned deeply.

"Have you not checked your reports lately? This is Annabelle Swift and the medical officer Ratchet as sent out a request to contact him the moment she is found."

A sinking feeling dropped into her stomach uncomfortably as his bright optics landed on her.

"I didn't get a report like that. Did any of you guys get one?"

The other soldiers shook their heads and the Charger stomped a foot onto the ground effectively startling them.

"Maybe if you performed your duties instead of indulging yourselves than perhaps you would have known. If you do not do your job then I will, as the Autobot's security officer, tell your superiors about your neglect. I will take her back and inform Ratchet."

It was obvious this wasn't the first time he's had to deal with this particular group of soldiers. They backed off immediately with grumbles of apologies and false promises. Barricade chuckled darkly from his cell and the Autobot shot him a motionless glance but made no comment. Instead he bent down on one knee and placed his hand palm-up upon the ground. Anna shied away from him at first.

"Do not make me force you to come," he warned.

Not wanting to make things any worse she carefully climbed into his hand and latched onto a servo to brace herself for when he stood up. He left with a brisk pace to the elevator that lifted them upward. With a full size transformer occupying the lift it no longer seemed to be so small. Her robo-ride was silent and uncomfortable with no distracting sounds besides the hum of the elevator so she tried to break the silence.

"So um," Anna trailed off nervously and felt stupid when he didn't even twinge. Several uncomfortable seconds ticked by until she began again. "What's your name?"

"Prowl," he said without looking at her.

"Ratchet's made isn't he?"

"He is," he told her simply.

Not one for small talk, Anna thought.

Prowl glanced down her, "You are leaking fluids. Should I increase my pace?"

Anna looked down at her arm and rubbed the spot that was smeared with blood, oddly the wound was already beginning to scab over.

"No." She said simply.

The elevator opened up to the outside which was bathed in the rising sun. Anna ducked behind his fingers as they trekked across the runway now full of military personnel slowly beginning their early day. Once they reached the medical bay Anna hid herself further in the mechs fingers when she found out Ratchet wasn't mad but furious.

"What in Primus' name compels you to keep disappearing?!"

Prowl stretched his fingers flat so she had nowhere to hide and tilted his hand so she fell into Ratchet's now dangerous looking hand.

"I swear, I'm going to chain you to a bed so you get adequate rest!"

"I feel fine," she told him to deter the angry medic and was surprised to be telling the truth. Nothing hurt anymore and she felt full of more energy than she had in ages.

"Don't tell me you're fine missy. I'm the medic and I say when you're fit to be on your stabilizers!"

He pointed his free hand at her and several medical tools sprang from his fat round servo and prodded her arm with a gentleness she didn't believe he possessed at the moment. "You leave my sight for less than a megacycle and you've already gone and injured yourself."

At that moment Ironhide decided to burst into the room and nearly knocked Prowl down who shot him a nasty glare in return.

"You shouldn't be moving so quickly with humans present," the strategist scolded with dulled irritation.

"Sorry prowl," Ironhide quickly apologized then asked Ratchet, "You found her?"

"Indeed," Ratchet replied grumpily.

"What in tarnation has gotten into you?" the weapon-totting mech demanded.

Anna crossed her arms uncomfortably and looked at the palm of Ratchet's hand, remembering how Mirage had called her Ironhide's pet, "Well I reckon if ya'll would install a shower and a toilet I might not be so inclined to wonder off," it came out as a mock -scoff but she was being truthful.

Ratchet grunted, "Perhaps I will look into adding the accommodations if that is all I need to keep you from wondering off." He looked thoughtful as if recalling something relevant to her request.

"As much as I hate to say it," he continued, "Your human medical officer made a viable point when he said your sickness was due to a lowered immune system caused by excess stress."

He looked down upon her and Anna couldn't decipher what he was going on about.

"He pointed out that the best place for you to recover your immune system would be at your original residence at least for a little while."

Anna's eyes brightened significantly. "You mean. I can go home?" she asked hopefully. If it was true Johnson had persuaded the government, Autobots, or whoever was forcing her to stay on this island to let her go than she would love him forever and forgive all of the rude comments he always made to her, mostly

"Under one condition," Ratchet added.

Anna felt almost all of her hopes scatter and her body language shifted downwards, she could only guess what the condition could be. Maybe they would implant some kind of tracking device under her skin; she honestly wouldn't put it past them.

"What condition is that?" she asked carefully.

He outstretched his hand towards Ironhide who bristled when all focus was brought to him

"Ask Ironhide," Ratchet coaxed with a rather strange look on his face plates.

Ironhide gave Ratchet a stern glare and 'humped' sharply. "I'll get you back for this," he mumbled to the mech then cleared his vocals and focused his optics on Anna who was highly confused. A nervous Ironhide was a new side she had never seen before and it threw her a bit off kilter.

"Annabelle Swift," -uh –oh, she thought, he was addressing her by her full name- "if you wouldn't mind I would be very honored to become your guardian."

She half expected him to get on one knee and propose to her with the tone of voice he was using but all he did was watch her nervously as he waited for her reply.

"What-What does that mean?" she finally stammered out.

"It means," Ratchet started with a rather large grin on his face that crinkled his large nose upwards, "that he is offering to become your body guard of sorts. Many a mech would be greatly honored to have him as such. Ironhide was Prime's guardian for a very long time."

Anna remembered the tall mech that towered over everyone and transformed into a semi with a blue and red flame paint job. His voice was unlike anything she had ever heard and couldn't help but remember every detail about the mech that had almost radiated importance. She thought it over quickly in her mind; Ironhide was rubbing his cannon nervously as he waited. If all she had to do was accept Ironhide as her 'bodyguard' then she guessed it was better than having a tracking device implanted under her skin. She was going home.

"Ok. I accept."


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: **I do not own transformers

* * *

Anna was surprised when an official knocked on her room in the morning to inform her that she would be leaving in an hour. Honestly she hadn't expected her departure to be so soon but wasn't about to say a word against it. Anna hastily packed her scant belongings and stopped when she spotted the IPod Sideswipe had given her. She had half a mind to just throw it away and forget ever being friends with him but found she didn't have the heart and plugged it into her ears. Anna practically tore out of the vacant room she had occupied by herself that night, which had been a nice change, and headed for the building's exit.

She headed for the infirmary knowing that it was probably a lost cause but she had to know if Victoria and Tyler had already left or not. To her pleasant surprise they hadn't. Cooper was the first to greet her with his usual rushing attack that assaulted her shins.

"Hey little man. How are you doing?" She greeted and patted him on the head.

"Victoria's sick," he told her.

Anna's eyebrow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

She knew it was probably useless to try and ask an eight year old exactly what was wrong with her so she looked to Tyler who was still heading her direction upon his crutches. Tyler met her gaze and she couldn't help but note the dark bags under his eyes.

"You might want to ask her yourself," he said solemnly.

Anna thought if the woman could speak then the matter couldn't have been all bad, but then again Tyler had never looked so crestfallen nor had his eyes ever been too shy to meet hers. He motioned her to follow and she did so with a growing-sinking feeling. Anna drew back a curtain and smiled at Victoria who was slumped in her bed looking worse than ever before. Her eyes were red as if she had been crying excessively.

"Hey," Victoria croaked out.

Anna stepped into the small space and let the curtain fall behind her when Tyler or Cooper didn't follow.

"Howdy. How are you feeling?"

Victoria's lips turned into a crestfallen frown and Anna was afraid she would start crying. She didn't know how to deal with upset people and it made her a bit uncomfortable and useless.

"What's wrong?"

"I-I had my baby last night."

Anna's thoughts twisted in confusion, there was no way her baby could have been delivered already, it was far too soon. Then the only possible answer clicked just before Victoria found the strength to continue.

"I miscarried."

Anna felt lost for words and couldn't think of a tactful or intelligible way to console her. Some people might have said they knew how she felt and then cried with her but Anna didn't know and wouldn't pretend she had. She didn't know what it was like to have something growing inside of her as many women described as the most wonderful thing in the world and couldn't understand why having a kid was so great. At her age Anna couldn't even fathom having a child or even wanting one.

"The doctor said he was probably dead after the explosion knocked a crate on top of me."

Again Anna could say nothing to console her and felt horrible for it. Instead she listened to her frustrations.

"I made him with my husband and we were supposed to be a family together. But he didn't make it out of the explosion. I promised myself I would stay strong and raise this baby on my own and make him the man his father would have wanted him to grow into. But now they're both gone and I have nothing."

A sharp sob escaped her lips and she whipped at her irritated eyes that were too dried out to cry anymore.

"But it's ok now," she continued and looked Anna straight in the eye. "I'm going to try and adopt Cooper."  
Anna nodded and gave an unsure smile. "I didn't know he lost both of his parents. I bet you would make a great foster mom. He seems to like you a lot."

Victoria smiled at that. "You think so? You think I would make an ok mom?"

"I think you would make a great mom," Anna repeated.

"Look at you. All packed up with a backpack over your shoulder. Are you leaving?"

The sudden change in topic almost caught Anna off guard but she sucked in a rush of air to quell the need to sigh out loud and said, "Yeah. I'm leaving right now actually. I just wanted to stop by and see ya'll first."

Victoria's smile was sullen, "I'll be leaving soon too. After they clear me in a couple of days then I'll be flying to Cooper's hometown to see about adoption."

Anna nodded, she wasn't sure if Victoria had asked Cooper or even if the young boy would be ok with the idea but it wasn't her place to say and it was obvious the woman needed to rest.

"Here give me that pad of paper and pen on the table."

Anna obliged and handed her the items and watched Victoria scribble a number on it.

"This is my home email and phone number. Give me a call or a message when you get home. If you ever need anything you can always talk to me."

She swiped her hands in the air, an obvious demand that Anna followed, and bent down to hug her.

"I will, thank you. I hope the adoption goes ok and you get better."

"You take care of yourself girl."

They pulled apart and shared one last friendly smile before Anna stepped on the other side of the curtain. Tyler was leaning on his crutches with a sullen look on his face.

"You're leaving?"

Anna nodded. "It's only temporary. I get about a week so I'll be back," she said regretfully.

His face soured. "Why would you be coming back?"

Anna wasn't about to tell him it was because the Allspark had melted into her skin and left some nasty side effects of random disgorges of energy so she shrugged her shoulders. "Hell if I know. They're all twisted in the head."

Tyler looked around the infirmary then focused his eyes on hers. "I'll still be here. I applied for a position at this base so I'll be working here from now on."

Anna felt a little relieved that when she came back there would still be someone around she knew. "I'll be sure to call you then when I get back," she assured. "Good luck with the new job. Hopefully this one won't blow up in your face." It was meant as a joke and small smile crept up his lips so she knew it wasn't a wasted effort.

She scrubbed Cooper's head who was on the floor playing with a toy truck and left the room.

* * *

Anna had no idea they were so far away from the U.S. let alone her home state and wanted to scream at someone. The flight was nearly fourteen hours of pure neck cramps and back aches. She rode in a carrier plane in which Ironhide's bulky alt form took up most of the space and the edges were packed full of ammo crates, the only source of seating. There were no windows in the plane and that only added to the stirring feeling of claustrophobia. Several escort soldiers had come along to ensure the Autobot and her safe arrival but she didn't know any of them. Instead she sat off to the side with her headphones in and stared blankly at a wall or at Ironhide's still form. Her mind was elsewhere, trying to fill in plot holes and character backgrounds for a story she had started working on just before school got out.

Somehow she had fallen asleep for a couple hours and immediately regretted it. Her face hurt from laying on the net that held the crates together and could feel the lines from it engraved into her cheek. Her ear ached from the headphones that had miraculously stayed in so she tore those out and tried to straighten out her bed head.

The few soldiers, ten of them, were stirring as well. Anna had wished Lennox could have come along so there would have been someone she was vaguely comfortable with to talk to. He nearly ran the base himself though and this small excursion wasn't important enough to tear him away from other duties. She heard from somewhere that he was part of the main reason she was able to be go home right now, at least for a little bit. The intercom cackled to life then and a woman's voice echoed in the carrier's hold.

"We're estimated to land in twenty minutes so get your butts in gear and be ready."

Anna wasn't sure what they were expecting to run into but Lennox thought Ironhide and her needed full blown escorts armed to the teeth.

The plane touched down at the airport and taxied to an open parking space. The massive mouth of the plane's rear opened and its hydraulics lowered to the ground to create a ramp. Ironhide made the first sound in hours and started up his guttural engine and rolled down the provided exit with soldiers marching out beside him. Anna was eager to stretch her legs and jumped down the crates and followed them out.

The hot and impossibly humid air choked her lungs and was so thick it put Diego Garcia costal humidity to shame. The temperature was ninety six and with the over eighty percent humidity which made it felt more like one-hundred and five. Nothing could beat the insane weather that changed faster than the forecasters could keep up with. In the winter Anna had to check the thermometer in the mornings to see if she would need shorts or a thick jacket and in the summer she made make sure to pack a collapsible umbrella and lots of bug spray.

Anna walked up to Ironhide, popped open his passenger door, and hopped into his massive alt mode with ease. When she looked at the drivers side his hologram had been activated and it was gripping the steering wheel while staring blankly ahead.

"Do you have everything?" It was always strange to hear his voice without the mechanical sound behind it.

Anna shrugged off her backpack and slung it into the back. "Yeah I've got everything."

He grunted in acknowledgement and pulled out of the airport, leaving the watchful Nest soldiers behind. The ride was silent as they drove through the city and even though Ironhide's size was even bigger than she was used to seeing, all of the other trucks and SUV's on the road made his alt form look more at home than it had at the base on an island in the middle of nowhere. A lot of drivers turned their heads as they passed by. In Texas good trucks were held in the same sort of esteem as Ferraris or Lamborghinis. Anna couldn't help but smile knowing she was in a pretty dang nice truck even if it was an alien. That made her smirk a little more. Maybe she should hook up two cattle cars behind him and watch people gape as he towed more than a normal truck could, maybe three or four cattle cars. She wondered how strong Ironhide really was.

"What are you so smug about?" Ironhide asked suspiciously.

Anna shook her head. "Nothing. Just thinking. Do you mind if I…turn on the radio?" She wasn't sure how to word the request since she thought it would be rude to use his controls that were essentially apart him. That thought creped her out a little bit. She still wasn't one-hundred percent sound with the idea of riding _inside_ of an alien. Thankfully she didn't have to ask because his radio came to life and softly blared country music through his speakers at a volume that could easily be talked over.

"I didn't know you liked country," she pointed out after a little while.

Anna didn't mind country herself but she never listened to very much of it. It was mostly her dad's fault since he used to listen to nothing but Country ever since she was a little girl. At the moment it was a nice change though and she welcomed the music. On her iPod she had been listening to the same alternative songs over and over and hadn't bothered much with the other genres. Ironhide's holoform didn't turn its head and faithfully kept its eyes on the road though Anna highly doubted those were the eyes he was really seeing out of.

"I don't," he said bluntly.

Anna couldn't help but laugh as his hologram's face pursed. "Most of your earth's music does nothing but hurt my processor. The twins are always blaring that junk you call Lady GaGa and it took nothing short of my canons to shut it up." His voice continued to build in rage as he openly ranted.

"Skids and Mudflap?" she asked astonished. She couldn't really picture those two listening to GaGa.

"No. The twins who are going to put me in my grave. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker." He said rather bluntly.

Anna fell silent when she thought of the lambo twins. She had seen them around a few times from a distance and she wondered how changed things would be the next time she got to talk to Sideswipe. Then she started and blurted without thinking, "Their twins?"

"Yes. They were thought to be the only ones until Mudflap and Skids showed up a year ago. Twins are a highly rare occurrence among our species."

Anna sank back in her seat. No wonder Sideswipe and been so broken looking in the medical bay. Sunstreaker was his brother, his family. Suddenly Anna felt stupid, his brother had been gone and it was making him snappish and irritable like it would any other sibling separated from another. His priorities had been in the right place and she shouldn't have been so selfish. Almost instantly she wanted to turn right around, fly back to Diego Garcia, and apologize to him for being such a selfish brat. The more she thought about it the more she felt she had been ass to everyone on the base and it made her feel worse.

"Is something malfunctioning?" Ironhide asked brusquely.

"No 'Hide. I'm ok. Just stupid." She gave a small reassuring smile and stared out the window.

The ride was uneventfully quiet since Anna enjoyed silence and Ironhide seemed obliged to remain the same when the song 'Before He Cheats' came on the radio. Without thinking Anna began singing along like she usually did in her own truck.

"Usually when Lennox tries to match the songs he's horribly out of tune and I want to shut my audio processors off."

Anna caught herself and stopped singing with a flush of red filling her face.

"Are you calling me off key?" she asked defensively.

"No I was just surprised that you can hold a tune. Every human I've heard try to sing shouldn't have even opened their vocal processors in the first place." He grumbled unintelligently after words and a deep scowl set into his hologram's face.

Sideswipe had once complemented her on her singing as well. Sure, She could hold a tune if the type of singer was within her vocal range but she wouldn't have be able to make millions off her voice or anything. Being on key when singing along was about the only thing she could modestly manage.

"You're probably going to meet Uncle Jack." Anna stated when they passed a familiar marker. They were getting close to home and the closer they got, the giddier she felt.

"Does this human live in your residence?"

"No he's my neighbor but I've known him ever since I can remember. He practically raised me. He's a little…odd but be nice ok? If you're rude I'll personally paint your cannon's pink again and this time I'll draw hearts on it," she added maliciously and with every bit of seriousness.

Anna felt Ironhide shake under her and his speedometer began creeping a little over the speed limit. "You're punishment was not sufficient enough. I should have made you clean the entire base by yourself! You are never allowed around either of the twins ever again!"

Anna laughed as she re-pictured an angry Ironhide pointing his fluffy pink cloud-donned cannons at her face. That was a day she wouldn't soon forget.

"You won't be laughing when you break your backstruts by the time I'm through with you!"

Anna couldn't help but snicker at him the rest of the drive as she entertained several other 'small' pranks she could accomplish all by her lonesome. She had never been much of a prankster but Sideswipe had rubbed off on her no matter how much she wanted to deny it.

By the time they rolled up to her apartment it was nearly two in the afternoon. He parked his massive self in the spot her dad's car usually took up which was conveniently right next to her white F-150. Her dad had bought it from Uncle Jack when she received her drivers license and she loved the truck to pieces even though it wasn't her favorite color in the world, beggars can't be choosers. She couldn't get out fast enough and before he could swing the door open Anna had hopped out of his alt form, ran a quick hand over her own truck, and rushed upstairs to her apartment. Her jitteriness died when she realized she was lacking a key which was now at the depths of the ocean. Grumpily, she jogged to the front office which wasn't far since the apartment was close to the entrance. The woman inside recognized her and handed over a key with Anna promising she would pay for it later when she had access to her purse locked inside.

She jogged back to her front door with excitement and almost knocked down Ironhide's hologram in the process.

"Slow down will ya," he said grumpily.

She ignored him and twisted the key in the hole then heard the dead bolt give with a satisfying _click_. She gave the door a good shove since it stuck a lot of the time and stepped into her dark living room. Anna sucked in the familiar scents of her home and reached over to flip the light switch. The artificial light flooded the room and a black blur shot across the sofa and tackled Anna, nearly knocking her over.

"Get away from her you disgusting pile of-" Ironhide roared then stopped short in confusion at the unmistakable sounds of her laughing.

Anna crumpled to the floor and hugged the wriggling mass of a licking monster.

"Kaden! How are you doing boy?" she asked the dog in a slight baby voice.

The Doberman Pinscher panted happily as he licked his master but abruptly stopped when he spotted Ironhide looming over Anna's shoulder. He released a threatening growl which showed his powerful canines. "What are you looking at you filthy rodent?"

"Don't talk to him like that," Anna scolded sternly. "I forgot to tell you about Kaden. He's my dog and not a rodent…Unfortunately he's a one person kind of dog so you might want to stay away from him if you don't want your hand bitten off."

Ironhide opened his mouth to retort but someone else beat him to it.

"If I were you I would head her warning. I feed that beast at least thirty days out of the year and he still tries to bite my rump."

Ironhide whirled around aggressively to the entrance and in seconds he had the man lifted into the air in a choke hold.

"'Uncle Jack!" Anna shouted with delight.

She sprung up from her crouched position and subsequently let Kaden lose. The dog charged at Ironhide and bit his aft. He roared loudly, let go of Jack, and grabbed at the assaulted area.

"Kaden no! Bad dog!"

Anna grabbed aholt of Kaden's rump and tried to pry him off of Ironhide who was turning red in the face with anger. Jack took the distraction to his advantage and circled around to entered the apartment much to Ironhide's distaste and easily helped Anna pry Kaden from Ironhide's jeans which now sported a few gaping holes. He relinquished the dog to Anna who drug the literally hopping mad dog backwards into her bedroom, snarling all the way, and shut him inside. She sighed and leaned against the door that he was still barking behind.

Jack laughed loudly and Ironhide gave him a severe glower.

"Sorry he was trained to be a guard dog. Kind of a gift from my dad since he was gone all the time," she tried to redeem quickly.

"The next time that large rodent tries to assault me I'll terminate it with my cannons!"

Anna's eyes grew wide and glanced over at Jack who looked equally as alarmed. Now was not the time to blow his cover, or insult her dog.

"Um sorry Jack. This is 'Hide. He's a military guy so he likes big weapons. 'Hide meet Jack." She spat out quickly. _That_ was intelligent, she thought sarcastically. Using his highly noticeable nickname was not part of the plan but it naturally came out of her mouth before she could catch it.

Jack looked to the weapon-toting mech's hologram and 'Hide nodded with a stiff grunt. She thought his impressive collection of scars probably helped to confirm her soldier story which wasn't entirely false. The best lies are built on truths because their easier to remember a put a front up with.

"That's a mighty interesting name. A nickname around the soldiers I assume?" Uncle Jack asked politely with a broad smile.

Ironhide cleared his throat and Anna thought he might try save some of his prized dignity. "Yes," he replied gruffly. All dignity was lost again.

Anna could have smacked her hand over her eyes like she had seen in cartoons but pushed down the strangely overwhelming urged and pushed away from the door whose occupant was becoming somewhat quite behind.

"You were scheduled to be back a week and four days ago," Jack stated curiously.

Anna began to rehearse one of the many scenarios she had planned out with Lennox to counter suspicious questions.

"Dad had to stay longer so 'Hide offered to escort me home. He's one of his friends so he'll be staying here for a while until Dad gets back."

She felt horrible for lying to Uncle Jack, especially about her dad. The two of them had been best friends for as long as she could remember. It was hard to say that her dad would come back when her heart very well told her he wasn't, but it was the truth in a way because his body had never been recovered. Perhaps he would show up on her door step one day when she least expects it like always. Not likely.

"Anna? What's wrong?" Jack walked over to her and slung a comforting arm over her shoulder and hugged her to him in a friendly way.

"Nothing's wrong," she said, smiling falsely.

He frowned. "I've known you since you were a youngling and I can tell when you're upset by something. I've seen enough of your fits and temper tantrums to tell something is bothering you."

Anna flushed in embarrassment and tried to wriggle out of his grip which tightened upon her escape attempts. He always did have a grip like a stubborn mule made out of steel. He had untamed black hair and small stubbles on his chin that hurt when they scratched her head. His clothes were often plain and unstylish and people who didn't know him would probably associate him with a homeless man. They had on one occasion actually, and that had been a highly interesting experience when she was a little girl…He was goofy but she laughed at anyone who thought he had no brains at all. Social graces might not have been his strong point but he was _smart_ and often tutored her in her schoolwork.

"I'm just tired from the trip is all. I was thinking about how nasty some of the food must be. I was away for a good while," she scrambled for quickly. Jack frowned but released her.

"If you're hungry I'll fix something up. I'll be able to tell what's fresh."

"No!" she yelped so quickly it made Ironhide jump.

"I'll get it! The last time you tried to cook it nearly burnt the house down!"

She rushed past him to make an edible meal by herself that wouldn't involve calling the fire department and making her apartment smell like burnt food for a week.

"It wasn't that bad of a fire. The olive oil spilled out onto the open flame and it flared up catching the cloth on fire. I put it out quickly with my specially made chemicals."

"Olive oil is super flammable and your chemical conveniently made it into a full blown explosion. Didn't I promise you would never touch anything that could blow up or catch on fire again? And how many times do I have to tell you, dad doesn't like it when you use your experimental drugs in the house." Anna said tersely from the kitchen that was openly connected to the living room.

He didn't really use drugs but that was often the term she used for the products of his work. His job was as a chemist for a nearby lab and he specialized in creating chemical compounds for various household uses. Ironhide didn't know this though and shot Uncle Jack a harsh glare.

"What do you mean by experimental drugs? He hasn't used any on you has he?" he demanded of Anna.

She rolled her eyes. "No and they're not drugs."

"That answered neither of my questions." Ironhide looked like he was itching for his cannons it and nearly killed him to no longer have them at his forearms. Anna was silently thankful a human couldn't carry around cannons half their size without being arrested.

"Look. Why don't you go and 'familiarize yourself with the premises' like you were preaching about earlier. I'm going to make myself lunch."

Ironhide crossed his scarred muscular arms and stared at her sternly with a look that would have most people running in fear of having a limb shot off. Anna matched his death glare and warned him sternly by saying, "Remember what I said would happen if you didn't behave yourself?" Ironhide growled and stomped away grumbling about females.

"My, he has quite the temper. No wonder he's a friend of your dad's. He behaves in a similar fashion."

Anna felt another twinge of guilt at the mention of her dad. "Yeah but not even dad was as grumpy as this guy. Or as trigger happy."

Uncle Jack had a vague and absent look in his eyes which Anna knew meant he was thinking hard about something and vaguely panicked.

"He takes some time to get used to but 'Hide's really not that bad of a guy." She shrugged in hopes of dissipating any odd assumptions that could be going on in his head. Uncle Jack had a bad habit of taking things a little too literally and she sometimes wondered if he had any common sense at all.

He seemed to come out of his 'happy place' with a wide lopsided grin that would brighten anyone's day, or creep them out depending on the situation. He grinned a lot. Anna sighed and looked in the fridge for edible lunch meat. Nada. She tossed the funky smelling slices and began pulling the cabinets open. In her haste she noticed the phone blinking and stared at it dumbly for a minute. Of course people would usually call when she was away and leave messages but she felt a sudden tightness in her chest when she thought of the significance of what those messages could possibly hold. Did the government or some other person call and leave a message about her Dad's death? Had he been found? Did anyone else know and were now demanding to hear from her? Anna was afraid to click the play button to find out and really wanted to postpone it until she got a full night's sleep, but once again curiosity could be a powerful enemy.

After debating with herself whether it would be a good idea or not, she finally kicked herself in the mental teeth, told her conscious how childish she was being, and hit the play back button.

The irritatingly flat male voice of the machine started up. "You have two new messages." Then an unfamiliar voice of a young woman spoke through it. "Hello this is University of Ok-"

Anna hit the delete button faster than was necessary when she irately figured out it was just another college trying to solicit. "Message deleted," the man in the machine said monotonely. "Next message."

"Hey Anna! It's Lisa! I hope you're not in school yet because my families' having a Barbeque at the ranch Sunday. You can invite Uncle Jack and your dad too. Mine really wants to talk to yours for some reason... Give me a call if you can make it!"

The message finished and the machine relayed that the message was only a couple days old. Anna strained her memory to think of what day it was and happily confirmed it was Saturday. Lisa and her family always had a barbeque at their ranch every summer. They owned five acres of land out in the country with a couple horses and a big pond in the back filled with vicious ducks. All of the animals were pets and by no means used as a source of income.

"I think it would be a great idea to see her again. I know how much you love barbeque," Uncle Jack said with a broad grin that lifted his ears.

It was true, Anna loved the ranch and the satisfying barbeque that was fit to be in a top of the line grill. Plus she hadn't seen Lisa since they got out of school. Uncle Jack was probably right, it would be a good idea to go over and experience some normalcy for a little while. She would have to sneak Ironhide in though.

"All right. I'll call her right now."

Anna picked up the phone and dilled Lisa's cell phone and only had to wait a couple rings for her to pick up. Lisa's phone was always within quick reach since she practically lived off the thing and was a completely social butterfly, the exact opposite of Anna.

"Hey Anna!" she shouted into the receive after reading the caller I.D. "You got my message?"

Anna found her own tone lifting at the sound of her cheerfulness. "Yeah I just got home. I would love to come but dad won't be around for a while. Uncle Jack's here though and my dad sent me home with a friend so would it be ok if he came too? I can't leave him un-baby sat in my house. And you know how Kaden gets."

Lisa snickered into the phone. "Sure bring him over. And speaking of cute little fluff balls, why don't you bring him over too?"

Anna rolled her eyeballs even though her friend couldn't see it and stifled a laugh. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" Anna asked.

"We'll be outside where there's no chance of him destroying the furniture so why not?"

It was true that when she was younger Kaden used to go everywhere with her. One time she stopped by to visit Lisa and left him unattended for a few minutes only to receive a screaming and irate Mrs. Thompson in the process. But he loved to roam around the ranch and she liked to give him the pleasure any time she went.

"Ok. What time are ya'll having it?"

"Why don't you come by around fiveish o' clock?"

"Sounds good I'll be there."

"It'll be great! Dad makes the best barbeque. The brisket's already been smoking for a good while. See ya there!"

"Cya," Anna returned with a smile into the phone.

Now she just had to get it through the grumpy mech's thick skull that she was going no matter what and if he wanted to guard her he had to come along or tie her down, which when she thought about it, knew he could. The government specifically told her not to leave the premises of her home and Ironhide was ordered to keep her there, but she would be damned if she let them run her life in her own home. Besides, she didn't let her friends down.

* * *

**The next few chapters will take a bit longer to get out since it's getting to be the end of the year and everything is getting crazy. I'm about to go on a week long trip for competition but be rest assured that I'll be writing on the plane! I'll be sure to post chapters ASAP whenever I can.**


	18. Chapter 18

**This chapter started out with a writer's block then a sudden explosion of words spilled out on the page. There was so much I had to cut the chapter in half!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own transformers, bud light or ****corona**

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On heaven and earth there was no place Anna would rather be right now than her own bed. It had been so long since she had gotten a good night's sleep and her queen-sized squishy bed filled with blankets and Kaden behaving as her foot warmer while he slept on the end just seemed to make her world right again. The room was dark and pleasant since a long time ago she had tacked a thick blanket to the window so no light came through making it easy to sleep in, though when she wanted to brighten the room it was easily removed. There was none of the hustling sounds of soldiers milling about while they started their routine activities outside and for a moment Anna almost felt as if everything had only been a dream. But she knew better.

She clutched her stuffed wolf and snuggled further under the covers with a feeling of contentment when her body sunk into the mattress and pillows. After a couple more moments of pure bliss a lingering smell penetrated her muddled mind and at first only her subconscious seemed to be aware of it. Eventually her immediate mind began picking up the disturbing scent enough that it aroused her to wakefulness. Kaden was lying stretched out on the end of the bed with his ears pricked and his head pointed in the air while he sniffed curiously. Anna slowly sat up and took a good whiff of the surrounding area too and thought it vaguely smelled like burning rubber.

Her tired eyes shot wide open and she flung out of bed so fast a wash of vertigo draped her vision in a spectacular display of black dots. Kaden rose in alarm and jumped off the bed at her sudden movement and barked sharply. Once her vision cleared and it was safe to move again she lunged for the door and pried it open. The gush of burning smoke clogged her nose and make her eyes water, almost immediately she wanted to be nauseous. Kaden darted past her barking wildly from his dislike of whatever was making the smell and disappeared into the gray-foggy room.

Anna shut her door to spare her room the full wrath of the smell and began wading for the edges of the living room. It was hard to see since her eyes kept tearing up and it was nearly impossible to breathe in or she feared choking on her own vomit would be an issue but after a short search she found the window right where it was supposed to be. The latch came off easily and Anna wasted no time in flinging the creaky seal open which hadn't been removed in years and gulped in a fresh breath of air and coughed while the smoke sucked out above her like a vacuum.

She took one last gulp of air before reclining her body back into the apartment and wadded through the fog towards Kaden's unmistakable angry barking. She wasn't at all surprised when it led her to the kitchen and even less surprised when she spotted a blurry green figure with a dark mop of hair darting around the area frantically and muttering to itself.

"Jack!" she screeched angrily then threw her thin nightgown shirt over her mouth and nose when the smell got to be too much. Sure enough the figure spun around and she could hear the indecipherable panic in the voice that could only belong to her dear Uncle Jack. "What the hell are you doing?!"

Anna ducked next to him and squinted through the room. She opened the window in the kitchen which allowed just enough smoke to escape so she could see make out the pot sitting upon the stove spitting out great thick clouds of gray smoke. Hurriedly, she grabbed a bowl and filled it full of cold water from the sink and pushed past Jack who had yet to say anything in plain English, she didn't know what it was exactly, full of odd growling and high pitch wails that could put a terrified girl to shame, but he did it whenever he was thoroughly angry or in a complete panic, like now.

Anna poured the water into the pot, careful to stay out of any trajectory, and heard it give a great hiss which produced even more smoke. After a few more dousing treatments a clear like steam began to rise and no more grayish black fog was coming out of it. She repeated the process several times until nothing was left. Kaden's barking throughout the whole thing did nothing to calm her nerves which were on the frying end of being ticked off.

A sudden crash outside make her heart jump and her subconscious assessed what it meant before she realized why she darted for the living room window. Outside Ironhide's alt form had made it out of the parking spot and he was quickly beginning to transform. Usually she thought the sight was the most spectacular thing in the world, but right now all it did was add to her panic.

"'Hide you can't do that here! Stop it!" she hissed urgently while trying not to shout and draw attention.

There was no stopping his transformation and after a quick whirl of gears, display of sparks, and something that sounded oddly like a wildly spinning fan belt, his plates jutted out and shifted back to become armor stretched over his bipedal form. His blue optics were alight with sparks and he was powering up his whining cannons before she would have been able to utter the word "so dead".

"'Hide change back!" She waved her arms wildly in a sweeping motion to try and make him understand her urgency. It was broad daylight outside and the thick trees at the edge of the complex were the only things keeping people on the busy street from seeing him. Though at any moment she feared a neighbor would peak out from their window and see a giant alien robot. Kaden's barking in the background make it even harder to project her urgent whispers.

"What's going on in there? Smoke's coming out of your residence and it smells like burning chemicals," he assessed gruffly with no attempt at lowering his voice.

"It's just a kitchen accident! Change back now! You can't just walk around here like that!"

She didn't have time for this. Anna ducked her head back in and sprinted through the foul smelling room to the kitchen to make sure the pot wasn't going to burn her whole apartment down. It was done simmering and Uncle Jack was nowhere in sight. Kaden was looking around confused and was letting out sounds that bordered on a whine and a growl. Anna turned on the vent above the stove and turned the burner off before stopping the sink to fill it up with water and a large squirt of soap. She decided to let the pot sit for a few minutes to let it cool and went around the house opening every window even if they were behind a door that had been shut to spare the room from the worst brunt of the smoke. Her room was the best off but she untacked the blanket from the window and opened it anyway to let out any lingering odors.

She went back into the living room and wasn't the least bit surprised when Ironhide's hologram stood looking crossed and confused in the middle of it. Silently, she sighed in relief because she knew the Autobots could only activate their holograms when their true bodies were in lockdown and silently prayed no one had spotted the twenty foot robot outside her apartment.

"What in tarnation happened in here?!" Curiously, Ironhide scrunched up his nose and slapped a hand over it to block out the smell. Anna had always wondered if their senses functioned like a human in that form, apparently they did.

"This looks like some concoction the twins made."

"Jack happened," Anna said seethingly but it came out haggard because she had to suppress a sudden urge to cough.

"What happened?" Came the last voice she wanted to hear at the moment. It was sheepish and innocent in the way a person knew they walked in on a conversation about them and he was the kid who was trying to play possum about being caught with their hand in the cookie jar, or the shotgun safe.

"Jack! Get yer' ass in here now and clean up your mess!"

One second he wasn't there, the next he was standing right next to her and looking curiously over the pot that smelled absolutely horrible. It was a bit creepy how fast he could move some times.

"We'll that's not what I expected to happen. I thought for sure it would work this time."

Anna didn't like the way he speculated the disaster as a failed experiment and shoved him out of the way before he could add anything else to it. She gripped the pot with two hot pads and with a held her breath then dumped the black mess into the soapy sink.

* * *

_-An hour later-_

Anna dunked the charred pot back into the water and scrubbed the darn thing for what felt like the hundredth time. Whatever foods Jack had tried to mix, Anna was almost grateful it had been burnt to a crisp. The sludgy ooze that caked the inside stuck fast like tar and she didn't even want to know what it would do inside her stomach.

She glanced over her shoulder and was immensely jealous of Kaden. Funny enough, the dog hadn't even tried attacking Ironhide because he was busy in the living room sitting upon the couch with his head hanging out the window while he panted rabidly for desperate fresh air. At this point she wished the entire roof could just pop off and vent the smell.

Ironhide stood in his human form against the bathroom door with his arms crossed and the normal irritate look he nearly always wore quirked up his features. Jack was being held prisoner behind it which was an improvement from when good ol' 'Hide was trying to snap his neck for 'endangering' her life. She had to sternly remind him that Autobots weren't allowed to harm humans, and that he was a guest in her home.

Anna looked back at her pot and scrunched up her nose. If the tar like substance was going to come off at all then she would have to let it soak for a few hours. Or days. She splashed the rag into the water, stepped away from the stinking mess and sighed.

"'Hide let him out. I need Uncle Jack to run an errand."

The burly alien cowboy "_hurmphed"_ in displeasure. "That does not sound like a rational idea."

"Just do it," she sighed.

Ironhide stared for a moment then stepped away from the door and swung it open. He glared into it for good measure then said, "Get yer' aft out here and don' touch anything. I'm watching you boy."

Anna rolled her eyes just before Jack slunk out of her bathroom with a broad smile directed at Ironhide and the chemist received a dangerous scowl in return. Anna crossed her arms when Jack's smile landed on her and she gave him a look that clearly told him she was still cross with the fresh incident.

"I was only trying to make some breakfast for you."

Anna ignored him. "I need you to go out and buy a bunch of air freshener."

He had the gall to ask in a clearly none sorry tone, "Should I get your favorite with the lavender scent?"

Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "I don't care what kind it is just make sure it's all the same fragrance. Now get."

"Aye-aye captain." He saluted sharply and walked by Anna swiftly enough that he could dodge her sweep at his shins with her dangerous fuzzy blue slippers.

"And you," she glanced purposely at Ironhide, "get to help me clean up."

He grumbled and made a remark about cleaning up being a rookie's job but with another threat to his 'truck's' paint job Anna had the salty old mech scrubbing down the walls. Everything the smoke touched had saturated the objects with a nasty film that smelled worse than burnt popcorn but floated through the air just as pungently.

Anna went straight to trying to air out everything. She tore down the curtains and stuffed them into a basket to be washed then added the towels hanging in the bathroom that hadn't been spared. She had been lucky that her dad's bedroom was always closed when he was away and hers was almost always shut out of habit. That only left the living room, kitchen slash dining room, and bathroom to clean out.

Ironhide's voice which was still bouldery in his human form echoed down the hallway in an odd tone flexation she knew as a mix of disgust and question. "What is this?"

"What's what?" Anna walked to the closet in the hallway he was giving a wide berth and peered in.

"That." He pointed to a blackened blob of charred material.

"Oh that." Anna couldn't blame him for not touching it; he was feeling cautious after Jack's happy little experiment. Ironhide had flat out refused to touch the contents of the pot after his curiosity had him asking what was in it, breaking a number one rule of Anna's. Never ask what chemicals or other strange items were used. It will either make your head spin with the scientific names or it will make you puke with disgust.

"It was a volcano project back in middle school," she explained.

She reached in and pulled the mess out and honestly couldn't remember why she had kept it.

"Let's just say Jack happened to this one too. Never let him touch anything that involves chemicals or mechanics. If there is a way to blow it up, he'll find it."

She chucked the memorable piece of destroyed project into the trash bin then stood up when the front door opened.

"Sounds like someone I used to know," Ironhide grumbled.

"I'm back," Jack called cheerily from the entrance with four plastic Walgreens bags hanging from his fists.

Anna took the merchandise and shuffled through the piles of air fresheners, all of them lavender scented she noted with slight amusement, though it wasn't enough to break through her irritation with him. She was still mad.

"These will do," she said and handed him a couple cans. "Go crazy."

"You're welcome," Uncle Jack added with a hint of sarcasm but turned to spray the rooms down anyway.

Anna gave Ironhide a spray can of his own and he held it out in front of him as if he were expecting it to explode in his hand. She sighed and grabbed another one out of the plastic bag hanging from her arm. "Look. All you have to do is press on this little button." She sprayed once to demonstrate and he scowled.

"I am _not_ doing this."

"Oh yes you are." Anna gave him a shove, not that it would do anything to his unnatural hologram, and of course he didn't budge an inch.

"'Hide. Don't make me tell you twice."

He glared at her but with an unsatisfactory grunt he unhappily followed the direction of her push. She watched him test the spray can for a few moments before heading to the corner of the living room, but not before catching an under the breath grumble from him.

"Being ordered around by femmes. There must have been something in my last energon cube."

Anna smiled ruefully and began plugging fresheners into every empty socket she could find and used up at least two cans. Uncle Jack went overboard with the amount he bought but there was no doubt in her mind she would need them again. The products would be stored away in the hallway closet for safe keeping. They finished in less than ten minutes since the apartment wasn't overly large and by that time Ironhide was looking even grumpier.

"You will pay for this femme," he growled threateningly and crushed an empty can of freshener with his unnaturally strong fists to make his point. Anna turned up her nose not intimidated in the least, he couldn't hurt humans and she knew he would stick by that order because of how high he apparently holds his 'Prime' leader. She had to admit; Optimus Prime impressed her too and if he asked something of her or heck, even ordered her to clean a toilet she probably would. There was just something about him she couldn't put her finger on. The few times she had seen the tall leader she couldn't help but stand a little straighter and talk a little louder, something about him was contagious, and that scared her.

Anna reeled in her thoughts and focused back on Ironhide's strikingly baby blue eyes which she had been in a completely vacant staring match with. It showed too because his face was contorted in confusion. "Did you malfunction or short out?"

Anna blinked once and furrowed her brow. "What?"

"Your heart rate increased and you were…strangly staring as if you weren't seeing me at all and you weren't responding."

"Don't mind her. She shorts out all the time. It's normal."

Anna whirled around angrily to Uncle Jack who was just coming out of the bathroom. "I don't short out. I'm not a robot." She huffed without thinking, she was still a bit miffed at him and the choking smell of over powering lavender masking a putrid scent was a sore reminder. Ironhide stiffened and he looked a bit angry, probably because Uncle Jack was back in the room, she hopped. Anna knew how sensitive they were to the derogatory term robot.

Jack laughed at her statement and gave her a bright smile. "I know I know. But don't you think you should be getting ready to leave?"

Anna couldn't help the impulse to search out the analog clock on the DVD player and read two thirty. She had really slept in for a long time. Then she remembered what the time meant too. "I need to get ready. Ya'll don't kill each other while I'm in my room."

Kaden, who still had his head sticking out the window barked sharply at something passing by and Anna noted that he probably needed to be taken for a walk so he could relieve himself. She would do that just before they left.

By three thirty they were all on the road after a long half hour or more of bickering. Ironhide flat out didn't want her to go and was furious she hadn't told him about her little last minute plan. Anna was supposed to be under house arrest apparently but she pulled the card it was her home and her rules, and a little paint job threatening which Uncle Jack strongly disagreed with. The threat was getting a little old but at the moment it was all she had, pranks weren't exactly her creative forte. Ironhide had refused to let Kaden ride in his interior, which she couldn't really blame him for but he had the dilemma of wanting her to ride in him for optimum 'protection'.

She wasn't about to leave her dog and Uncle Jack behind and Ironhide said he would rather peel off his paint job or eat dirt than let Jack ride inside him. So that left her with one option that took her to where she was now. Kaden sat with pricked and alert ears in the bed of her white F-150 while Jack rode shotgun with his feet propped up on the dashboard with an absent look that could rival her own at times. It felt good to be driving her own truck again; she loved to drive and admitted she found leisure in being able to control the vehicle under her own hands and the sound knowledge that it wasn't alive.

She loved the pickup to pieces. It was an 05' that her dad had bought from Uncle Jack three years ago when she had gotten her drivers license. She didn't have very much experience with cars but she would proudly tell anyone she had the best vehicle on the road. Not once had it ever failed her. The center gear shift never stuck like some models did, the oil was always pristine and the traction and breaks were amazing. Not once had she ever skidded out of control even on the most drizzly and hazardous days when wrecks were all over the streets.

One time she was going to school early in the morning and it was extremely foggy and wet. She had just turned right when a guy in a small green pickup, the toy trucks she liked to call them; never trust a guy in a small pickup her dad always said, made his turn way too fast. His truck lost complete control and she slammed on the breaks to watch it skid a complete one-eighty around the front of her car and into the ditch across the street, facing the completely opposite direction.

When she slammed on the breaks to avoid the crash she was afraid her truck's breaks might fail her too but the powerful machine had stopped all of its heavy weight in a smooth jerk that responded perfectly, if not better to the presser applied by her foot. The experience shook her a little even though she tried to be the good samaritan and pulled over to see if the guy was ok; he spoke Spanish and nothing else and was a little miffed no one who saw the near miss had stopped. Though Jack showed up without her even calling, he had the uncanny ability to be where she was at any given time when something went wrong. Once she asked if he had planted a tracking device under her skin or something and all he replied with was a sarcastic "maybe".

"You're absently driving again."

"Huh?" Anna asked stupidly when she blinked to the here and now and immediately felt flustered. She turned away from the country road full of pines and stared him in the eye. "I wasn't."

"What were you thinking about this time?" he wisely asked instead of chastising on her lie.

They had always had this small game that whenever Anna would space out, since it almost always involved her playing out a part of her most recent story, Uncle Jack would ask her to explain to him what her latest idea was almost like a toddler asking for a bedtime story. Anna usually never told anyone about her secret worlds she created in her head and the made up characters who lived in it but Uncle Jack was different. He always seemed interested in her latest idea and would even add small quirks of his own for her to improve upon. He was the only person who praised her and said she should finish writing out one of her stories some day and publish it.

"Nothin really," she shrugged, "Just that one time the guy in the toy pickup did a one-eighty around the truck."

Uncle Jack's face soured. "That guy was a complete idiot. He went far too fast with inefficient equipment and came within a foot and three inches of the front bumper." The more he spoke the angrier he became.

"How did you know how close he got?" She asked curiously.

"I-well- you described it as such!" he fumbled ungracefully.

Anna just half nodded and was turning her attention back to the road when Uncle Jack suddenly shouted; "Deer!" before she could fully turn around or even react. Anna slammed her foot on the break and she could have sworn they were thrusting down extra sensitive beneath her foot. The seatbelt tightened painfully while the breaks locked down and the heavy truck made loud chinking sounds as it tried to stop.

The deer is a stupid animal and stupid animals stare at giant metal things coming at them at fifty miles an hour, that's where the term 'deer in the headlights' came from. At that moment she wished the thing that was possibly dumber than a brick wall would move its white tailed behind out of the way with the little leeway her straining breaks were giving.

Fortunately by some miracle she was able to stop the truck before it hit the animal but there was still the very real danger of Ironhide's extremely heavy altform, which had been following from behind on the one lane road, would crash into them. His breaks ground so loudly she could hear them from inside her truck and the smell of burning rubber filtered through the vents. She hoped that he didn't need to transform to jump over the truck or anything and he could simply stop before hitting them so he didn't blow his cover.

Somehow, the weapon specialist was able to screech to a lurching halt just feet from hitting them, but not without swerving a bit into the next lane, and churning his front tires into the grass on the other side. The dumb as bricks deer finally fell out of its spell and it scampered back off into the forest. If Anna had a shotgun on her she would have shot the damn thing and processed it for venison.

With a lack of any means to kill it, she popped open the door and hurried over to Ironhide who had deactivated his hologram in the panic. She opened his passenger door and poked her head in to make it look like she was talking to his human form.

"Shit. Sorry 'Hide it was a deer. I don't have a guard on my truck and if I would have it the thing would've gone through my windshield."

His mechanized and extremely unhappy voice came crystal clear through the speakers. "If I wasn't under cover I would have blasted the pit spawn thing! That's it. You're riding with me. Now. No excuses!"

Anna cringed but didn't want the trigger happy mech any madder, he just might blow his cover.

"Ok fine. Wait a sec."

She jumped down and returned to her truck. "I'm going to ride with 'Hide and make sure he doesn't stop and go chasing after that thing. He's pretty mad about it. Mind driving the truck?"

Uncle Jack actually frowned. "Are you sure? You don't have to ride with him. I don't think the soldier is going to chasing after a deer out of sheer anger."

"He would," Anna confirmed even though she had no idea if he really would.

"He'll be fine," Uncle Jack persisted again.

She gave her truck's door a pat. "Thanks Uncle Jack," she told him exasperated, patted Kaden's bobbing and confused head then returned to Ironhide's altform. She felt bad for leaving him with Kaden who was sure to snap out of his stupor soon enough and become angry with her presence no long in the truck but she was really afraid Ironhide might transform right then and there and level the pines to let off some steam. Anna jumped into the passenger seat and heaved a heavy sigh to help diminish her adrenaline rush from the short scare.

"Just follow Jack," she said while combing her fingers through a layer of hair.

Anna started when the seatbelt slid over her body unassisted and cursed herself for being so jumpy.

"Are you undamaged?" he asked gruffly.

"Yeah, I'm undamaged," she told him with a smile directed at the dash. "Just follow Jack he knows how to get there."

Ironhide reactivated his hologram and easily maneuvered back into the right position on the road then tuned into a radio station while he drove behind Jack.

It took thirty more minutes to make it to the ranch and Anna couldn't have found it a more welcome sight-or smell. Ironhide's windows were rolled down and she could already scent the deliciously heavy fragrance of mouthwatering barbeque. It reminded her she hadn't eaten much except for the bar she grabbed just before they left. The house stood at the front of the property and was a two story home that was at least ten years old. Lisa's parents had built the house, the dream home they had always wanted, when her mom's mother had passed away and they received a good sum of money.

They parked out front and Ironhide followed closely behind like a dangerous bodyguard, which Kaden didn't like one bit and growled with a dangerous show of fang. Anna obliged enough to let her Doberman walk between her and the glaring alien cowboy. Jack followed behind with a sensible distance while he eyed Ironhide.

Anna rang the door bell and waited uneasily with the three of them until Lisa in all her blond haired glory opened the door. She was definitely taller than Anna, standing at five foot eight. She liked to wear skirts and go deer hunting, and she had really pretty green eyes.

"Hey! You're late you know," she scolded.

"Yeah sorry. We ran into some wildlife road blocks."

Kaden began trying to wiggle himself into the house but Anna held him back by the collar.

"No worries. Come on in."

Anna walked into the house and was about to question why all of the lights were off when they suddenly turned on with a blinding flash and several people popped up from behind the furniture. They wore party hats and blew loud noise makers and the usually spotless living room was decorated with balloons and banners.

"Surprise!"

She instinctively jumped back, which rammed her into the brick wall that was a madly grinning Uncle Jack. Ironhide roared in surprise and held his arms out in front of him with balled fists as if he were about to use his cannons. Usually that would be one of the scariest stances you ever saw him in but as a human he looked hilarious with his bemused eyes when he realized they weren't there. Kaden shot off like a rocked barking madly and went for the first person he could get his fangs on. The unfortunate 'surpriser' was Lisa's older brother who yelped and took off running through the house. Anna couldn't help but laugh.

"I don't see what's so funny," Ironhide said irately.

"What the heck is this?" Anna finally said after caching her breath.

"I know you're smarter than that girl. It's your surprise birthday party!" Lisa told her excitedly.

Grinning from ear to ear, Jack shoved her towards the small group of people. There was Lisa, her mom and dad, and of course, her brother who had somehow gotten outside and was yelling for Anna to call Kaden off. Anna turned to Uncle Jack. "You were in on this weren't you?"

He scratched his tousled hair. "Well maybe a little bit." That was queue enough for Ironhide to glare harshly and list off death threats in his processor.

Anna laughed, "It's tomorrow you know," she told them as if it made any difference.

"Which is why you're spending the night!" Lisa said.

Anna frowned, "I didn't bring anything for a sleep over.

"So? You have plenty of stuff you've left here."

"We can't stay that long," Ironhide cut in.

Lisa bravely walked up to Ironhide and pointed a finger into his chest. "Oh yeah? Who are you?" she asked accusingly.

"I am her Guardian."

She got closer to his face and stared him straight in the eye making Anna tense. She was ready to pull her away if anything got nasty.

He glared down at Lisa darkly and gave her his warning scowl. "Step away from me female…You're in my personal space."

"Female! What are you? A caveman? And I've never seen you before so how do I know you're really her guardian?"

"Lisa! That's enough. I thought you told me a friend of Michieal's was coming over?" Lisa's mother scolded her daughter sternly.

Her mom was pretty for her older age, tall with blond hair, it was easy to see which side of the gene pool Lisa got her looks and height from. Unlike Anna who got all of her looks, brown hair and eyes, plus her shortness, from her dad.

Lisa immediately backed off. "Yeah well. He didn't have to be so rude," she huffed.

"You girls wan't some barbeque or what? The day lights a'wastin."

Lisa's dad had the heaviest southern accent Anna had ever heard and it strongly reminded her of a die-hard redneck, which he mostly was. He was a little pot bellied with a scruffy face and bald head. He was a police officer who drove a massive dodge truck, drank beer, and went turkey hunting every season. At least he didn't jack his truck up and slap a twenty foot tall ham radio antenna on it. Oh wait, he did. But he was funny and his mother brought him up with a good sense of 'southern morals'. Meaning he never cursed around woman and he still opened doors for his wife.

They went into the 'backyard' or five acre lot and were immediately greeted by social horses and hungry ducks. All of the animals on the ranch associated people with food. Anna skirted around Ironhide to avoid the ducks and eyed the warily. 'Hide noticed her avoidance and scrutinized them himself.

"Shall I terminate the flying rats?"

Anna and Lisa burst out laughing but her mother looked horrified.

"No, no. Don't terminate them. I just-" Anna tried to amend but was abruptly cut off.

"She's had some bad history with the ducks but don't let that influence your opinion of them," Lisa told 'Hide with an innocent smile.

"Actually. You can keep those avian creatures away from me too," jack said and cowered behind Anna and Ironhide. He had a bad experience with the birds too.

A duck quacked and Anna picked up her pace but didn't really need to because Kaden came barreling around the yard barking madly and sent the ducks scattering with a flurry of feathers.

"Call that dang crazy dog off my wife's ducks!" Lisa's dad hollered. He didn't like the thing's much either and Anna was sure he was laughing on the inside, but he really didn't want his wife upset over losing one of them.

"Kaden come here!"

The Doberman Pincher stopped stiff and swiveled his sharp head with pricked ears in her direction. She called for him again and the large dog came trotting back to her side.

The food was good, and as some people say, the company was even better. After they finally convinced Lisa's dork brother to come down from the tree and Kaden was safely off chasing wildlife at the other end of the property, Anna was enjoying herself more than she had in ages. Uncle Jack stood a ways off with Ironhide at his side standing with large crossed arms and both of them silently watched the group of humans stuff themselves with smoking meat and Bud Light, all of it being drunk by Lisa's dad of course.

"I don't understand this Birth Day celebration," Ironhide said to Uncle Jack.

"What? You can't tell me you've never had one as a youngling. They hold the occasion very high. The day of their birth. Anna would get gifts and a large cake annually to celebrate it." the chemist told him.

Ironhide merely grunted and returned to standing stock still and watching his charge laugh at something Lisa said. There was a cracking sound and a change in frequency that he didn't distinguish at first, since his faux human form distorted his usual senses, but he soon realized it was his internal comm. and Ratchet was trying to hail him.

"_What is it?"_ he asked curtly through the communicator. He was definitely not one for social graces.

Ratchet, who was used to his behavior, ignored his rudeness. _"I'm checking in. Has her status changed at all?"_

"_The Girl's health has increased and she seems…different," _he hesitated, and any hesitation from Ironhide raises a red flag

"_Different?"_

"_Before she was bullheaded and often angry…almost like a Decepticon. But now…she's softened up. I've never seen someone who's been through war bounce back so quickly."_

There was a short pause before Ratchet replied. _"You should know as well or better as anyone that her disposition can change at any time. Especially to a human since they're so unbalanced. Keep observing her."_

"_I know,"_ Ironhide said darkly and cut off the communication.

He didn't bother asking if anything was going on at the base. If something were to happen he would be contacted immediately, and he really didn't want to know what the twins had destroyed today or who they torqued off. Instead he had a more current problem.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Anna gave the harshly questioning Ironhide a sheepish smile.

"A Corona. You want one?"

She knew damn well he wouldn't want one. Robots can't drink or eat human food.

"You are underaged and therefore it is illegal for you, a minor, to drink any form of alcohol. Hand it over and I will dispose of it."

"What are you? My dad? I'm only having one."

That seemed to stump his thought process for a moment and a shocked look came over his face. H was able to collect himself after only brief few seconds and assirted his voice.

"Now Annabelle."

Lisa's dad chose to intervene at that point and walked up closely to Ironhide's side with a bottle of Bud Light gripped in his hand. "It's just one and it's for a special occasion. No harm done. One beer won't make her a drunk as a skunk. Come on pal you look like you could use one yourself." He gave 'Hide's muscular form a hard pat.

"You are an adult giving a minor alcohol. That is illegal," Ironhide persisted.

The man withdrew his large hand, frowned then laughed. "Come on buddy you aren't the police. Just relax and enjoy yourself. You've been watching this poor girl like a hawk ever since ya'll got here and I'm sure it's making her uncomfortable."

"I'm her guardian, I'm supposed to watch her and I do not register any discomfort in her bio signs."

"Bio signs? Hmm let me guess. You were a chemist in the army?"

Anna inwardly cringed and her mind was already madly trying to come up with a story to fill in the gap but Ironhide beat her to it with a surprising answer.

"No I'm a weapon specialist."

"Oh. The Top Gun guy eh?"

That brought a smile, or smirk depending on your view, to Ironhide's lips.

"Well I do hold the record for most accurate shots in the fastest time on the training machine and out in the field."

"Oh really? Why don't you just come over here and tell me all about it." Lisa's dad put a friendly hand on 'Hide's shoulder and began directing him obliviously away. That man had amazing tact that came from his years serving in the force and right then she couldn't have been more thankful for his intervention. Maybe he could help Ironhide unwind a bit in the process.

* * *

**We did great at contest! We came out on top of every division leaving us with a grand total of 9 trophies! We only take a big trip every four years and this was defiantly a great finale for my senior year which will be over in a short few weeks. /tear/**


	19. Chapter 19

**I felt like this chapter could have been better but it is what it is.**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own transformers

* * *

"Wake up!"

Anna started to full consciousness when Lisa found it necessary to pounce on her for a wakeup call. Lisa was always a morning person and that clashed horribly with Anna's nocturnal morals. In a vain attempt to stave the happy blond off she groaned and buried further into the sleeping bag. Unfortunately there was a zipper on the side and Lisa took full advantage of the fortress' weakness. She split the cocoon apart and beamed at a glaring Anna.

"What are you? A vampire? Come on it's your birth day!"

Lisa leapt away when Anna got up.

"For one I hate vampires, I'm more of a werewolf person."

"Vampire, werewolf, whatever. Just get up. That guardian of yours is going to be dragging you home at ten. Sour butt doesn't know how to let up. You know I thought for sure if your dad made anyone your guardian it would have been Uncle Jack. In fact, doesn't your guardian only get a say in your life after your parents pass away?"

Lisa had a horrible habit of rambling and the more she spoke the harsher her words hit home. Anna wished she would stop but it was too late. She thought she was over her dad's death, but the welling tears said otherwise.

"Hey? What's wrong? Your dad's not…"

Anna couldn't answer her and had no idea of what she could say which rose a red flag for her friend.

"Oh my God. Anna what happened?"

Anna had to sit down and Lisa promptly followed and placed a comforting hand on her arm.

"Promise you won't tell anyone. Not even Jack."

Lisa looked rightly astonished and appalled. "You haven't told anyone? How long ago did it happen? Was there already a funeral?"

Lisa was hastily running away with questions, all very good ones. The last one, about the funeral, was enough to bring a fresh wave of tears to Anna's eyes. There had been one, or so she had been told. The government didn't allow her to attend because she hadn't been able to leave the base at the time. It was more of a mass funeral though, not just for her dad, but all of the men and women who went down on the carriers. It must have been one impressive funeral large enough to make the news, she bet. Anna had confided in Sideswipe that day and he had sincerely tried to comfort her which only made her want to return to base more just to tell him how sorry she was for being a jerk.

"No I haven't told anyone. Promise you won't either. Please?"

Lisa looked her hard in the eye and nodded her head. "Promise." Then after a pause she added, "Cross my heart and hope to die."

She might like to run her mouth but Anna knew she would keep her word. She was one of those few people that though they talked a lot, their speeches were guarded.

"So. Why can't you tell anyone?"

Anna couldn't very well tell her the government had classified the carrier incident, meaning if any word of the truth leaked out they would be back to collect her in a New York minute. She did have to ask herself why she kept her dad's death concealed from Uncle Jack but at the same moment she thought it, her mind already knew the answer, she didn't want to see the heart broken devastation on the face she's looked up to for support since childhood.

"I'm just not ready to tell anyone."

Lisa nodded. "Ok but whenever you're ready you know I'm only a phone call away."

Anna gave her a smile and was ruefully reminded her cell phone was now at the bottom of the Atlantic along with her favorite pen. The only necessary item she still had in possession was her drivers license that had been left at home by accident. She had switched purses before leaving and she found out her dilemma when she needed to get past base security. Her dad had to come out and assure the guards she was supposed to be there.

"Come on there's still some cake left! Let's stock you up on a good ol' fashioned sugar high!"

Downstairs Lisa's mom was already busy cooking a breakfast that made Anna's taste buds water.

"mmm. Is that eggs and bacon I smell?" Lisa's dad asked with his noise pointed into the air much the same way Kaden's snout would when something smelled tasty.

"Why dad I never would have guessed," Lisa's brother, Matt, said sarcastically.

Lisa's older brother was twenty one and going to a college Anna had never heard of and was studying to become a lawyer, unfortunately he was off for the summer. He was tall like Lisa with sea green eyes and his mop of blond hair could have used a bit of a trimming. Most people knew him by his sarcastic comments and strange sense of humor, not to mention he was afraid of dogs and Anna felt that was partly her fault.

"Don't sass me boy," his father warned.

"What? I didn't say anything."

"Don't back talk your father," his mother called out of habit from the kitchen.

Matt rolled his eyes and flopped himself down on the couch which both Anna and Lisa were currently occupying.

"Hey get off!" Lisa screeched when he landed on top of her.

Anna was currently getting a bare foot wagged in her face and she didn't appreciate it one bit. Her lips scrunched up into a sneer and she curled herself up onto the couch then kicked the bottom half of him over the edge. He slid a good ways but the awkward angle kept her from being able to force him completely off. The moment of being off kilter gave him the chance to force all of his weight back onto Lisa which made her screech and swung his lower body back onto the couch with his legs seeking to kick Anna off.

"Ouch! Get off you asshole!" Anna tried to block the assault but he wasn't holding back much or looking where he was kicking, unfortunately he got a few blows to her face which was only making her madder which by default made Matt laugh harder.

Anna was distracted with trying to restrain his feet and keep herself upright on the sofa, there was no way she was going to let him win, so it took her a minute to figure out why the grotesque adult suddenly went airborne above her head. He was suspended by one scarred and muscled hand grasping the back of his shirt and the other gripping a foot to leave his left one dangling a couple feet above Anna's head and the startled look he held was priceless.

"What do you think you're doing to my charge?" Anna couldn't have been more relieved to hear Ironhide's bouldery voice.

"Hey man put me down!" Matt began to struggle but Ironhide held an iron grip with no chance of escape.

"Are you deaf? I said put me down!"

"Are you going to harass the females again?" the weapon specialist asked with no sign of strain in his face or posture as if the unruly adult weighed nothing but a feather.

Matt stared at him for a hard second with confusion etched across his face. "Females? Dude you've been in the all male military school way too long."

"That did not answer my question. Until you have the proper answer you can spend your time outside with Annabelle's rodent."

"He is not a rodent," Anna snapped but was completely ignored.

Ironhide began trumping towards the back door and Matt struggled even more wildly to wriggle out of his grasp.

"Don't put me outside with that demon dog!"

Ironhide released his foot so Matt was being dangled half an inch off the floor by the scruff of his shirt collar and opened the back door.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Matt panicked and began to run in the air the same way when you place a small dog over a bathtub without submerging them and they begin to try and paddle away.

"Come er' you oversized rodent I've got a snack for you," 'Hide called into the five acre lot. That was enough to crack Matt's tough exterior like a hammer to an eggshell.

"Ok fine! I wasn't doing anything I was just being annoying! I won't do it again."

Ironhide "humped" and threw him back into the house where Matt fell to the floor ungracefully with his mop of blond hair falling over his face and scrambled to his feet as quickly as possible where he bumped headfirst into Jack.

"What's going on?" Uncle asked in puzzlement when Matt's face contorted in fear and he darted past him up the stairs. "You're crazy as hell you know that!" he shouted with a resounding slam that announced he would be in his room for the rest of the day, or at least until Anna left with Ironhide.

Lisa's dad heaved a sigh. "That boy is an adult but he still acts like a spoiled child."

"Well I would consider that tame next to what he did last night," Lisa rightfully added.

It was true that last night Matt had been on his worst behavior, it made Anna feel more smug that Kaden would see fit to chase him around the yard a few more times that day with the accomplishment of taking a chunk of fabric from his jeans. After cutting the cake Anna opened a small stack of presents. Lisa had given her a couple CD's and junk jewelry, which Anna loved, and Lisa's brother thought it was funny to give her an undergarment set from Victoria Secret. Of course he misgauged her bust and the top was far too big, probably for the size of his dream girl. Lisa was horrified and her mother was furious. Her dad and Anna thought it was funny; she could appreciate the humor since she knew he saw nothing in her and pulled stupid stunts like that all the time. Poor ol' 'Hide had no idea what the items were and was thoroughly lost on both reactions. When he questioned Jack about it the scruffy man just scratched his head as well.

"If ya'll want some breakfast before ten you better come in here," Lisa's mom called from the kitchen.

The meal was a delicious mix of scrambled eggs doused in Hot Picante Sauce with bacon and eggs on the side, a real treat for Anna who couldn't make anything more complicated than spaghetti or a cup of cereal. Between her and Jack most of the meals were precooked, prepackaged (fruit wise) or simple meals, eating luxury food was never on the menu except when her dad came home, he could cook better than almost anyone she knew.

When everyone but Ironhide and Jack were seated with a plate Lisa's mom tried to coax the two into taking one their selves. "Don't you boys want a plate?" she asked them.

Ironhide crossed his arms over his chest and clearly told her, "I do not require any sustenance at this time." Just like a true alien robot Anna thought, no tact at all.

Uncle Jack was a little more civil with his answer which he had been reciting for years. "I'm not hungry thank you." Anna would swear he was an anorexic since all of her life she had never seen him eat anything but that would be impossible because he never got sick and his strength was so crazy he might be hiding a six pack under that baggy shirt. Anna rolled her eyes and took another bite of the deliciously spicy eggs.

"Are you sure you can't stay?" Lisa begged for the last time as Anna headed out to the trucks.

"Sorry but I'm kinda not even supposed to be out here," Anna told her with an apologetically smile. She was starting to get that funny feeling all over when most people knew they were getting sick. She noticed it vaguely when she woke up and passed it off as just feeling groggy like normal people when they first get up but by now she was wide awake and the feeling was easier to distinguish.

"Why? Were you grounded? Put under house arrest?!"

Anna cringed at her fitting description. "Kind of," was her only meek reply.

"Oh my god you're being spied on by government agents and their hiding in the bushes aren't they?!"

With all of the insane ideas Lisa came up with Anna was surprised she was the one who wrote and not her, a lot of ideas actually spurred from conversations with the outrageous blond.

Ironhide, who was deep in conversation about weapons again with Lisa's dad snapped his head to attention and gave Lisa a stare down, Anna noticed out of the corner of her eye and knew she had to stop the girl before she got herself into trouble with her big mouth and insane stories which were more or less true in this situation.

Fortunately Uncle Jack was able to change the subject with his observation which was always more technical than it needed to be. "I highly doubt that. There are no other large organisms in the area besides a couple deer a hundred and twelve feet away."

"Whatever Bill Nye. I don't see any deer let alone have any way to calculate how far away they are. Let's just leave it at the government spies in the bushes. I know they're there," Lisa concluded with no room for argument.

Lisa's dad gave out a loud whistle in admiration when they reached the cars parked out front. "That yours mister?" He was referring to the massive GMC Topkick.

"Yes sir," 'Hide told him with a heavy drawl. Anna internally sighed, the last thing she needed was his ego brushed, that road always led to a display of his impressive collection of arsenals and in this case would leave them exposed.

"That's a fine beauty you've got there. What kind of work do you use it for?" Lisa's dad asked excitedly.

Her mother was not so thrilled. "Is that a truck or a semi? You wouldn't be able to park that thing in a garage."

She was wholly ignored when Ironhide enthusiastically replied, "Everything on and off the job."

"I bet," her dad blindly said with no clue of what the weapon-toting mech really meant and never would know.

Anna opened the back door to her truck and threw her CD's in then walked around the back to lower the tail gate. She gave a sharp whistle and called for Kaden who had spent the night outside. He came at his own leisurely pace being the lazy dog he was and when he finally trotted up to her side he hopped in with his nails clacking against the metal and sat down to stare at her expectantly.

"You're riding with me."

Ironhide said near her side which startled her because she didn't hear him walk up.

"And why is that?" just as quickly Jack was by her side without any warning as well and that did not help Ironhide's skittish disposition. With a start he swung his muscled arm around and smacked Uncle Jack across the front and sent him sprawling to the ground with a startled yelp and 'Hide had him pinned beneath him with Jack's immobilized arms grasped in his iron grip before Anna had any time to react.

Once Uncle Jack was able to process where he was he shoved backwards and was able to twist out of the grasp and astonishingly he knocked the weapons specialist off balance and smacked 'Hide into Anna's white pickup back first and had his arms restrained this time. Kaden barked harshly from the surprise jarring of the truck and leapt with an aim to bite the first part of the two males he could sink his teeth into but Anna was quick enough to grab his thick collar and push the snarling dog back with some difficulty.

"She's riding with me," Uncle Jack said in one of the scariest tones Anna had heard used only once before, that had been a long time ago during an incident where he had ordered her to hide while her dad and Jack dealt with some strange people in the apartment. She never learned what they were after and could barely recall the incident in detail but she remembered being a terrified little girl hiding in the closet with a bunch of yelling grownups on the other side.

Ironhide stared hard at Uncle Jack and Anna swore his face was turning darker. He freed a hand and grabbed Jack's in a crushing grip which would have surely crushed the bones in his fingers but the chemist didn't even flinch.

"I don't trust you." Ironhide said lowly and released his hand. "She rides with me. I am her guardian."

Anna almost felt like letting Kaden loose wouldn't be such a bad idea. This time it was Uncle Jack's turn to stare long and hard at the weapon specialist's faux human form. "I don't trust you either. Your files don't show up in the military data base and it is impossible for you to be Anna's guardian because she's my charge."

The sincerity and force behind his words threw Anna off; she had never heard him so serious before. Most of everything he did or said was with a goofy smile and an even goofier attitude. Now, he was acting almost like a soldier laying down the role for an unruly underling, with a powerful set of threats behind his piercing baby blue eyes. She wondered when he had ever become her official guardian but didn't deny her dad probably had it on paper somewhere.

"Boys, is there a problem?" Lisa's dad came to the rescue and his tone of voice let Anna know he was in full cop mode. He glanced at Anna to read her shocked and confused expression then placed his full attention on the quarreling 'men'.

"No we're good. In fact we were just leaving. Come on guys." Anna made sure Kaden wasn't going to jump and leapt into the driver's side of her white pickup.

"Thank you for the surprise party I had a great time," she told the cop courteously.

Lisa's dad gave her a stern look. "Thank Lisa not me but you're welcome. You call me when you get home alright?"

Anna nodded her head and assumed he wanted her to call just to make sure she made it home and there was no mishap. He probably thought there were domestic problems of some sort. Great, she thought, that's just what she needed. "Sure will," she told him confidently though he looked skeptical.

Uncle Jack eyed Ironhide one last time before climbing into the passenger seat and shut the door with a little more force than necessary. 'Hide shot her a stern look that made Anna melt behind the wheel before he made of show of walking over to his 'truck' and jumped inside with unnatural ease.

"Hey Anna!" Lisa ran up to the window which Anna rolled down and stuck her head out of.

"This is probably the last time I'll see you until Christmas or something isn't it? We're going to be in college in about a week," she said solemnly.

Anna gave her a small smile. "Yeah you're right. Thanks for the surprise party, even though you know I _hate _surprises," she added with a bite.

"You loved it don't lie. Besides, you can vote now and move out of the house anytime you want!"

People always made becoming eighteen seem like a big dead but Anna didn't feel any different. She rolled her eyes and waved good bye when the ever impatient Ironhide honked his blaringly loud but deep horn.

The ride back was fairly quiet which was strange when the company was with Uncle Jack. He was silently brooding in his seat with a glazed over look which was contorted into a concentrated scowl. Anna didn't dare break the silence herself and wondered what all the dominate 'guardian' fighting was about. Jack and Ironhide clearly said they didn't trust each other and it irked her somewhat for the two to be throwing around the position like it was some kind of ownership. She did verbally accept Ironhide as her guardian, as in Autobot terms was supposed to be some great honor, really all she could make out of it was an irritating body guard that stood too close and acted like a stern father. Helicopter parent was more like it. Her mom had been that way before her dad won most of the legal custody of her, she went to absolutely every small recital or event she was a part of in the first few years of elementary school.

When they reached the apartment complex around noon Anna parked the truck in its usual spot and Ironhide took up her dad's usual space, though he barely fit and had to carefully squeeze himself in to make sure he didn't scrape the cars on either side. Jack glided out of the car and shouted over the bed as Anna was lowering it to extract an impatient Kaden, "I need to go to work for a while."

Anna gave him a reassuring smile and nodded, working on things which exploded usually made him feel better so she wanted to him to go all out on it. "Have fun and don't blow up anymore kitchens."

He gave her a broad smile without comment and walked away and around the building. Ironhide didn't stir or activate his hologram; she thought perhaps he was brooding from a hurt ego, if giant alien robots could brood. Since Uncle Jack indeed up riding with her Ironhide had 'lost' in a sort of dominance game. She rolled her eyes and left the massive alien to his lonesome and walked Kaden to relieve himself in a patch of grass before taking up the stairs.

Though the apartment still smelled strongly of Lavender most of the noxious smells had aired out through the windows and apparently the fumes were bad enough that even the bugs stayed away which she had hopefully deducted would happen. Anna shut the windows and redid the latches but kept the fans running to help circulate the air that still made her gag reflex cough every now and then. Kaden had already found his usual place on the living room rug right in front of the couch and was happily sprawled out and panting against the summer heat. Today was a toasty one-hundred and three with humidity.

She called Lisa's house and assured her and her dad she could hear in the back ground that everything was just peachy. She hung up the phone and realized she finally had some alone time and that raised her spirits and the lapse in silence allowed her mind to re-gather itself and remember a few important things.

Booting up her laptop, Anna made herself comfortable upon her bed and pulled out a small crumpled piece of paper. The Windows startup flashed in her face and chimed its usual cheerful sound when it switched on the desktop. Anna sniffled a little and thought maybe it might be a good idea to take a Tylenol. Her head ached a little with a buildup of pressure and she hopped whatever it was could be slept off. She usually never got sick during the summer and found it strange; usually it was during the winter when all of the crap from the north was coming down with the cold fronts and the spring when all of the plants were germinating. They added up to months of misery and lots of allergy medicine with prayers of not getting sick.

With the computer's programs fully up and running she opened her email and entered a new contact then created a note. She stared blankly at it for a moment then decided on what to type.

"_Dear Victoria,_

_I made it home safe and sound, I hope you did too. Things are already back to normal around here and the weather is nice. How are things where you are?_

_Your friend,_

_Annabelle_"

She didn't know what else to add and was simply giving the woman her own address with the email and they could talk to each other constantly now, at least until she had to leave. Everything she wrote was a blatant lie, nothing was normal and the weather was horribly hot and muggy, she hopped it would rain to take some of the moisture out which luckily in the summer it did at least once a day. Unfortunately, on the drive back they experienced the pop shower of the day and it hardly did anything to lessen the weather. With the message sent Anna closed her computer to put it to sleep and stretched her arms she had been lying on. In the corner of her eye a large black case caught her attention. It had been a while since she had opened it and figured it needed a little maintenance.

She slid off the bed and pulled the hard fabric case out from under the bed by its handle and laid the heavy thing flat on the ground. She unlatched the lid and lifted a tan flap of fabric away to revile a polished violin with white rosin residue caked under the silver strings. The last time she had even touched the instrument had been at least a month ago when she was still in school.

Anna pulled back the Velcro which held the neck still and removed the full size instrument which felt almost light as a feather and slid the shoulder rest into place back. She laid it carefully back in the case and took out the wooden bow, tightened it, and rosined down the coarse horse hair to make the microscopic hairs stand up. She picked up the instrument again and placed it fittingly under her left chin and her fingers and arms reflexively went to their proper places. Softly, she played a couple double stops and used her sharp ears to tune the G, D, A, and E strings.

Satisfied with the pitch, she stood before her black wire stand and turned the pages of her binder to a piece she had played for competition that year, Shostakovich Symphony No. 5, granted it was only a second violin part out of an entire full orchestra which consisted of all the other string instruments and several band players. She began playing her part with the music that was nearly fresh in her mind from almost a full year of practicing it. Her calloused fingers dug into the strings without so much as a twinge of discomfort and her keen ears kept her in the correct key. Years of playing had conditioned her sense of pitch to an almost perfect self tuner. She wasn't the best player, had never sat first chair and probably never would, but it was fun and she played purely for the pleasure of it.

The muscle memory in her fingers allowed her to play measures that played notes so quickly they would seem a blur if she tried to track each and every one of them. It was like reading a book full of words, her eyes recognized a grouping of compacted notes and read the first and last segments to refresh her mind in less than the blink of an eye but she had been playing this music so much it was more by ear so it was difficult to play in the right tempo without all of the other parts filling in where they should.

With that out of her system she went into the bathroom to find some drugs.

The Tylenol was just where she left it so she snatched the rattling red and white bottle then went into the kitchen to find something to choke it down with. She opened the refrigerator and decided a glass of orange juice might do her some good since the vitamin C was good for someone who was sick, though it had a really funky acidic taste to it when she was full blown sick. She took the carton out and let the heavy door close on its own after a sharp tap. She placed the container on the counter and opened the cabinets above. She stared up into the few cups remaining since most were in the dishwasher waiting to be cleaned and cursed her shortness which kept her from reaching all the way in.

She placed a knee on the counter and heaved herself onto the white surface to place her other one upon it. With victory she grabbed aholt of a plastic cup and placed it beside her. She closed the cabinet and placed her hands down on the counter to support herself while she hopped down but her fingers hit the toaster by accident and a shock that felt like the time she accidently stuck her finger between a plug and the wall outlet zapped a visible strand of electricity from her fingers into silver appliance. She yelped in surprise and slid off the counter ungracefully with a painful bang to her hip bone on the way down.

She stood back up while holding her side and was ready to kick the counter with her Converse when a high pitch buzz irritated her sensitive ears and she could see electricity wrapping around small appliance. She furrowed her brow then the very toaster she had used to make her bagels and white toast with for years fell apart and rearranged itself into a miniature transformer. Well, miniature next to the normal transformers, this one was at least a foot and a half tall, coming just to her knees. It glared at her with shining red optics then Anna backed out of the way when it jumped down to the floor. She stared at the strange alien in her kitchen wondering if it was a Decepticon, what it was doing in her kitchen and what it would do next. She got her answer when it began chattering then gave a strange sort of war cry and transformed its arm into a miniature rocket launcher.

Anna felt her pupils dilate in surprise and she made a manic dash for the living room as it began firing at her. She screeched and dodged the incoming barrage feeling a stinging sensation dig into her calf but she didn't stop until she dived around the couch to safety. Her foot smacked a surprised Kaden who leapt up with an angry snarl and saw the evil turned toaster for the first time. He barked aggressively and lunged for the thing and began wresting with its soft plated armor while a few more missiles shot off uselessly into the air.

"Get him Kaden get him!" Anna cheered her Doberman on anxiously as he bit and ripped chunks of metal off with his powerful jaws. The mini toaster from hell flailed its arms in the air with a wild series of loud chattering and let loose a couple more small rockets which scattered in all directions. Anna yelped and ducked around the couch to avoid one that came uncomfortably close. Over Kaden's loud snarling and the creatures angry cries Anna heard a loud crunching smack that caused the evil toaster to increase its volume into an urgently pained screech. The adrenaline rush allowed her to ignore the stinging throb in her calf and she peered cautiously over the couch and was surprised to see Uncle Jack standing with his foot firmly planted on the creatures back and he was trying to restrain the creature while fiddling with something on its head.

Before Anna could jump up to try and help him she felt a brush of air by her head and Ironhide's hologram was jogging towards him with heavy footsteps that made the floor shake a bit since they were on the third floor. He pulled out a strange looking gun that looked far too big for his human size, one that couldn't possibly have been a normal earth gun, and shouted at Uncle Jack.

"Move if you don't want to get shot!"

Uncle Jack barely had enough time to leap away from the struggling mini bot before Ironhide shot it once in the head, and that was apparently enough because it blew its entire cranial unit off its shoulders which flew across the room and rammed into the wall where it tore a hole through the thin material before bouncing to the tile floor in the kitchen. Kaden leapt after it and began chewing and ripping at the appendage as if it were still alive.

"What the hell was that?!" Anna blurted, meaning the way it had simply come to life after the electric shock.

"It's not what you think-" Uncle Jack started.

"Decepticons," Ironhide said with an angry grunt which effectively cut Jack off.

Anna held her breath when Uncle Jack's eyes narrowed and he took on an aggressive stance towards 'Hides false projection.

"Which side are you on?"

Ironhide gave him the same treatment with coiled shoulders and a tense stance that his choice of a human image made look much more threatening next to the scrawny man she pretty much called her family. She was ready to jump in and shove them apart to keep Ironhide from inflicting severe damage when Uncle Jack's answer startled her still.

"Autobot," he said in a clear and unmistakably truthful answer.

"What is your designation?" Ironhide questioned.

"Wheeljack. What is yours?"

Ironhide rocked back an inch on his poised feet and after a blink his mouth was turning into a smug smile. "Well if it ain't the mech who blew up the whole pitable lab back at Iacon four vorns ago."

"Who are you?" Jack asked again with a bit of underlying curiosity in his voice.

"Ironhide."

"Ironhide?" Jack repeated with shock. "Primus, how did you get here and why are you with Anna?"

"I'm her guardian under a direct order from Optimus. Why in the pit haven't you contacted us?"

"I've been on this planet for nearly fifty human years and my communications have been down for the duration. None of the materials this planet possesses are adequate to fix them. I've been masking my signature and hiding with this family."

"You're a transformer?" Anna blurted.

Jack gave her a broad but sheepish smile. "I'm sorry I never told you but Michieal wanted to keep it a secret. He's been allowing me to stay here ever since he found me hiding in a junkyard. How did you come across this grouchy old mech?"

All these years, all her life, the man she knew standing in her living room over a dead Cybertronian was no man at all, but a faux hologram made of matter just like Ironhide. He was one of the twenty foot tall robots and she had no idea what his disguise even was, she had never seen his 'car' before Anna stood up while favoring her leg and walked around the couch so she could sit on it comfortably, she was afraid if she didn't she would pass out. She felt all of the blood rush to her head when she tried to imagine him as a twenty foot tall robot which made her calf sting immensely and her ears pound uncomfortably.

"Anna? Hey, you're losing pigment awfully fast."

Her vision was becoming static and she was ready to lose her breakfast by the time Jack was standing in front of her. In almost the same instant Ironhide was striding over faster than a man his size should have been able to move and was frowning down at her.

"Something's wrong," Ironhide said and his voice was muffled to her deadening ears.

"Slag it. Do something I'm comming Ratchet."

His hologram flickered and Anna could see an unnatural layout of metal and wires under his skin before his entire body flickered and disappeared.

"Why don't you lay down and tell me what's wrong?"

Uncle Jack-Wheeljack lightly pushed her shoulder and she had no qualms with following his hands but that was the last thing she remembered before blacking out.

* * *

"She's coming to." Jack's familiar voice filled her ears and the world came into focus. Her neck felt cold, she had a nasty headache and her leg felt like someone had put a hot skewer through it. She reached behind her and pried an Icepack out from under her and stared up at Jack and Ironhide's holograms.

"What happened?" she asked dully and was wishing for her Tylenol.

"Ratchet said you were experiencing shock and we had to remove shrapnel that was imbedded in your leg," Ironhide provided.

Anna sat up slowly and felt her head throb and her leg protest with a shot of fire running through it. Jack sat down next to her and put a supportive hand on her back.

"Take it slow you don't want to relapse."

"That was dumb," she said with her face growing red. She had passed out in front of both of them and she couldn't think of a more embarrassing scenario. At that moment she wanted her drugs and to run and hide under the covers of her bed. She looked down at her bandaged leg and didn't even want to begin to know how they had gotten the pieces out. But judging by the bloody paper towels and a strange looking devise on the floor she was suddenly glad to have been out for it. The evil toaster from hell's body was also gone and that made her blood pressure spike.

"You're an Autobot?" she asked Uncle Jack.

He nodded. "I am an Autobot and my designation is Wheeljack. I'm a scientist devoted to their cause."

"You've got to be kidding me," she blurted. "You blow everything up you touch."

That made Ironhide chuckle and Jack looked like his pride had been wounded. "I've built plenty of things that don't blow up," he defended.

Anna sniffled and watched Kaden sniffing around the kitchen. "I need some Tylenol," she finally announced but neither of them were able to say anything because a knock across the room snapped both of the mech's attentions to the front door and caused both of them to still.

"My scanners show they are both human," Ironhide concluded.

Anna was beginning to wonder when all of the ruckus they were making would attract the attention of her neighbors. In fact she was surprised no one had called the police. Anna was ready to ignore them but the lock turned and the door was opened from the outside. She gaped at the two adults who walked in with equally stunned looks. It was her mom and her husband John.

* * *

**To all of you who have been guessing Uncle Jack was Wheeljack you all get virtual cookies!**


	20. Chapter 20

**I got this chapter out pretty fast! There isn't much action in it but it's still an important segment.**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own transformers or the matrix

* * *

He thought for sure his systems were repairing themselves at an exceptional speed. Ever since he touched the female organic and received an odd electrical shock, one that was not damaging as far as his internal scanners were concerned, on the contrary whatever she had done increased his healing speed tenfold. But during the last couple of earth days he had been feeling an increasing ache in his processors and his systems were once again becoming sluggish with exhaustion. Perhaps the burst of energy was only temporary.

The power must have been connected to the Allspark, nothing else possessed that kind of power and the more he learned of the woman the more his suspicions were becoming confirmed. He had only felt and witnessed the Allspark's powers once before, the time in Mission City when he watched from afar as Megatron's very spark was extinguished by the flesh bag Ladiesman217. It was a feeling of power he would never forget. If only he could get his servos on the girl then maybe he would have enough access to the power coursing through her to heal all of his injuries and aid in his escape. The female hadn't made herself known in a long while and he was beginning to wonder if she was even on the base anymore, which simply wouldn't do. He needed a way to find her and bring her to him, his survival depended on it.

Across the large room the only immediate ally he had sat idly in the guise of a Mountain Dew machine. Barricade had been surprised at first and furious at the simple creature that could have put Frenzy to shame with its stupidity, at least the four foot tall chatter box was smart enough to be a useful asset with his grade A hacking skills. Dewbot, as he liked to call himself, had atrocious grammar and acted like a youngling created without a logic processor, so far Barricade hadn't been able to find any redeeming qualities in it except he was outside of the cell and he was inside. He was only able to convince the bolt for brains Decepticon to bring him the girl because he said she would die if he didn't, though it wasn't a complete lie. The mini bot had a disgusting disposition towards the female.

The door to the upper observation room swung open and Barricade tensed into stillness as a rerun of M.A.S.H blared from a portable TV set inside. A younger NEST soldier was coming out back first which made Barricade sneer. He knew these creatures were inferior to his race in every way including war savviness but it still disgusted him to think of how poorly trained the humans were. One of the number one rules was to never turn your back to an enemy even if they're imprisoned and disabled.

"I'm just getting a coke," the soldier called into the room.

There was a muffled response, one Barricade heard clearly with his perfect audio receptors before the soldier shut the door and began making his way down the wire stairs with his heavy boots making loud rattling footsteps. Once he reached the bottom the soldier unwisely looked up into the cell across the room and gazed right into Barricade's silently glaring optics. The young soldier locked up with momentary fear, memories of the last time he saw those red fiery optics in another Decepticon flooded to the surface and he could hear the ghost of screams. His blue eyes Narrowed and his shoulders stiffened as he stared up at the monster.

"If I weren't in this cage flesh bag I would crush you right now," Barricade darkly voiced his dislike for the young man's ogling. The hunter didn't like the superior way the human looked _up_ at him.

"You'll all be dead soon enough," the young male bit confidently back.

"Who exactly?" Barricade pushed.

"All of you Decepticons. Every last one of you will be dead."

The faux police car chuckled gutturally at the human's stupidity but at the same time he saw an opportunity.

"And then what will happen?"

The human's eyes broke contact from his optics, a sign he knew meant the simple creature's fragile confidence was already wavering.

"Then-then you'll be dead and good fucking radiance!" The young soldier resorted to a childishly defensive outburst.

"When we're all dead," Barricade continued calmly, "then what is there to hold the Autobots at bay? We Decepticons may take things by force but that doesn't mean we're the only evil beings."

"What do you mean?" the soldier asked cautiously.

Barricade smirked. "The Autobots are far more evil than the Decepticons; it is why we fight them. They may appear to be on your side now but once we are gone that will change. Through lies and drawn out political games with your weak government they will slowly begin killing this planet and by the time you realize what happened it will be too late and they will have sucked your planet dry of its energies and leave you with a dying husk to fester on. You humans should be less adamant on which side is wholly evil and good because there is no such thing as purity."

The human fell silent and his mind stumbled over itself in an attempt to grasp what the towering Decepticon just told him. The Autobots were trying to take control of the earth? Were they really more devious than the menacing creature who reminded him like the sharp edge of a knife how screwed up his life was because of his faction? But when he thought about it, compared to the destructive red eyes full of malicious intent that was so transparent there was no mistaking what was coming next, the thought of the Autobots coming from under the table made him shiver. Not once had he thought about them trying to take control of the earth but truthfully he wouldn't be too shocked if they did. They were too large, too powerful, too far advanced with knowledge to want to solely depend on frail humans and abide by their rules to appease the inferior species. It was like trying to choose which of the lesser evils he would rather be blindsided by. An idea swelled in the soldier's mind, what if he could kill two birds with one stone?

The soldier slowly began to speak after Barricades long silence won out. "Does this mean you know how to get rid of the Autobots?"

His optics gleamed and a malicious smile pulled over his razor sharp teeth, "But of course."

"Tell me," the human ordered sharply.

Barricade clicked his glossa. "Not until you help me in return for my knowledge."

The human soldier regarded him critically, perhaps if he haphazardly played along he could get what he wanted out of the Decepticon, a way to deactivate the Autobots, and never truly get him what he wanted. Instead the soldier would have a way to destroy all of them in the end and ultimately get the last laugh.

"Fine, we have a deal..."

He sweeped his hands forward in a waiting gesture that Barricade was vaguely able to grasp from his short time on the planet. "My designation is Barricade," he answered steadily.

"Tyler," the young NEST soldier offered.

"Then we have a deal, Tyler," He announced with emphasis on the fleshling's name.

Tyler smiled widely then turned his back to the captive Decepticon. _Foolish human,_ Barricade thought. The soldier fed the mountain Dew machine a dollar and retrieved a green aluminum can before walking back up the stairs. A sharp wail was heard when he opened the can and an explosion of carbonated water sprayed his face which made the faux mountain Dew Machine shudder with uncontrollable cybertronian chortles that only Barricade could hear. The hunter growled at the idiots he had been dealt for pawns.

* * *

Time froze for Anna and her usually busy brain fell silent with shock. Then as quickly as she had stalled her brain picked up at lightning speed when her mother began marching towards her with a furious look set in her face. Why where they here? Did they know about the Autobots? Did they know about the carrier incident? Was her mother going to kill her?

"Annabelle Reese Swift!"

Her mother leaned down and grabbed forcefully aholt of her arms and towed the young adult up to her aging face. She was a woman in her late forties with short blond hair and green eyes, nothing about her looked like Anna since she got all of her looks from her dad. The rough handling jarred her leg and Anna couldn't help but release a short squeak of surprise and short pain between her mother's fast action and her jostled leg. The older woman looked her long and hard in the eye before speaking again.

"The military said you were dead! I got the letter about your father and you and when I came to secure his property I find the land lady telling me you're still here! I went to the funeral! How could you deceive me like that?!"

Her mom was shaking her for an answer but Anna's mind was grinding to another halt. The government wrote her off as dead when they knew damn well she was alive? Was it a mistake? Had they never intended to let her go?

"I-"

Anna was about to clamber for an answer but Uncle Jack-Wheeljack placed a hand on the woman causing her head to jerk towards him.

"Cindy you need to calm down." He appeared to mean well but all his intervention was able to accomplish was turning the malice on him.

"You!" Her mother released Anna and pointed an accusing finger at the false hologram of Uncle Jack. "You knew about this didn't you?! Why didn't either of you send me an email?! A message?! Something!? My husband is dead and I thought my only daughter was too!"

She broke in hysterical sobs and grabbed the fake fabric of Wheeljack's shirt. Anna was appalled. "You're ex husband," she said angrily.

Her mom stopped crying as soon as the words hit home and she whirled back around to face her daughter. "How dare you! I knew him before you were born and he was my first love and first husband! Just because I divorced him doesn't mean I don't still love him!"

"Then why did you divorce him!"

Her mom's red face soured and Anna was met with a hard _Slap _that stung her cheek and made the growing headache even worse. The sharp sensation brought pricks of tears to her own eyes and she could feel a swell of anger egging them to stream down her face

"You wish I were dead don't you?"

Her mother brought her well manicured nails up to slap her again but a strong hand clamped around her wrist and stunted the action before Anna, who hardly flinched, could be smacked again.

"Female I don't know what is wrong with you but harming the girl is not going to solve anything."

Ironhide's electric eyes were stoic and concentrated but Cindy didn't even bat an eyelash at the tall muscular cowboy.

"Who the hell are you?"

Anna took her opening, stepping away from her enraged mother she took the childish way out and ran for her bedroom where Kaden had recently been occupying between the time she blacked out and woken up. She slammed her door, locked it, dove under the covers after kicking off her shoes and cried a quiet stream of angry tears.

She heard her mother arguing with Ironhide who did his best to hold his patience and with the help of Uncle Jack she heard the shouts drown out into absolute quiet. Kaden was lying on the floor to get as close to the crack at the bottom of the door as he could with sharp and alert ears. Anna could rest easily enough knowing that she had him in a state that would tear the face, or jeans off the next person who stepped in the door so she was fairly safe to say she would have a few hours to herself. She would have been right except she forgot Ironhide and Uncle Jack weren't human and they didn't need doors to enter a room.

"Ann?"

The bed sank to one side and Kaden gave an audible warning growl but since the man hadn't come through the door full of hostility he let it slide and concentrated back on the door.

"Answer me please. Tell me what happened." He reassuringly stroked the top of her head that was poking out of the covers. "Where is Michieal?"

Anna curled tighter into a ball and did her best to ignore him. Who was to say he was the real Uncle Jack? Maybe the real one was dead and this Wheeljack was the imposter, she owed him no explanation, why couldn't they just all leave her alone?"

"I know this must be a lot of data for you to process all at once. I'm sorry I never told you what I was but Michieal wanted to keep it a secret and I honored his wishes. But seeing how you seem to already know what I am I 'll tell you how I met your creator."

Anna scrunched her dripping nose up as it began to itch and was mentally building her defenses. No doubt the imposter alien was about to make up some sob story to gain her trust, she wasn't going to fall for it.

"I crash landed here about fifty of your earth years ago. I had been sent out on an expedition to find a colony of neutral transformers and help them come up with a machine to harvest minerals that existed on the sparsely populated planet they found. Unfortunately a star was going supernova and our scanners blacked out and my ship with its crew were sent hurdling through space. A few of us ejected the doomed ship without knowing where we would end up and by chance I crash landed here after several months of traveling through space.

"I disguised myself and hid in a junkyard; the very one I met your creator in. He was young back then, only eighteen in your human years. He was being attacked by what you always called bullies so seeing a creature being ganged up on I chased them away and your dad confronted me. In return for my help he allowed me to stay with him and I've been your families guardian ever since."

Anna found his story hard to comprehend. So that meant he had known her parents before she was even born? He knew her mom and her dad while they were dating, when they got married, when her dad joined the military, when she was born, when her parents broke up.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" he voice was muffled but Wheeljack's excellent hearing picked up on her words.

"Come out from your hiding spot and I'll show you."

Anna damned her curiosity again and the burning desire to understand her suddenly flipped around life forcing her to slip the covers down to her chin and glared with reddened eyes. Uncle Jack-Wheeljack was smiling down at her with his broad grin and she damned the security it had always given her. He held out his hand palm up and Anna watched as the skin flickered like a TV screen to display wires beneath and a beam shot out from a port in it.

"I can't do very much of this since just holding a hologram takes up so much energy but this is the first time I encountered Michieal."

The blue beam turned into a sphere and upon its rotating and flickering surface Anna saw a younger but recognizable face of her dad. He had dark brown hair and almost chocolate colored eyes but his youthful appearance was broken up by scratches littering his face. She sat up and leaned closer.

He was running from a group of boys his own age and the look on his face wasn't terrified like most people would be, his was concentrated and it seemed like he know exactly what he was doing. Her dad ran into the junkyard, stumbled over torn scraps of metal which slid and clattered together when he scrambled over them with the other boys close behind.

He ran around a car that no longer had doors and its innards hand long been gutted with the frame left to rust but he crouched behind it and waited. The oblivious boys ran right by the hiding spot while calling her dad names that were so juvenile they were more likely to make Anna laugh than get her mad. The vision in the sphere was frantic, constantly following the boys and her dad, a tunnel like vision that zoomed in and out on their faces in turn. She could only see the top of her dad's head since he was hiding behind the car but it was bobbing up and down rapidly. The boys were spreading out and seeking until they quickly found him but by then it was too late. A small explosion went off when one boy tried to approach and Michieal was up and running again.

He ran until he fell out of sight and suddenly the vision changed to the two boys and zoomed in on their faces that were becoming further and further away rapidly and their faces were changing into fear just as quickly. The orb flickered and suddenly the only one in the light orb was her dad's beat up and smiling face.

"You can com live with me," he said, "on one condition." There was a pause and the ball flickered so harshly Anna thought it was going to die out. "You have to be my car." The orb of light lost all of its energy and disappeared leaving Wheeljack's palm skinless and the machinery itself was flickering.

Anna blinked at his fake hand then looked up at his electric blue eyes. His entire hologram was flickering dangerously and his face looked drained as he waited for her to make the next move.

"So…you were always Uncle Jack? You didn't just kill him and try to pass off as the guy I've always known?"

He chuckled at her assessment, "No I've always been 'Uncle Jack' and the transformer designated Wheeljack."

"Now Annabelle, please tell me what's going on with Michieal."

They were back to where they started and Anna felt her stomach clench and a wave of guilt flooded her conscious. If Uncle Jack-Wheeljack truly knew her dad as long as he had claimed then he had a right to know. But then something in the back of her mind still nagged that none of them should be able to process the information she has, no matter how public it already was thanks to NEST. _Ah hell._

"He's dead," she said in a steady voice.

Wheeljack's smile fell but he didn't comment as he waited for more of an explanation.

She told him in a steady voice that began feeling more and more impersonal and detached as she spoke. "I was on the airship carrier spending my break with him just like I told you I would when it was attacked. Decepticons came from out of the ocean and destroyed the ships. Dad gave me a piece of the Allspark and told me to get in a life raft. I did and only a few of us survived after they blew everything to pieces. NEST fished us out of the water with helicopters and brought me with a few people to their base where the Autobots were…And that's where I learned about your kind. He's dead with hundreds of others."

She couldn't look at any part of him let alone straight in the eye. Her vision focused in on things in her room, Kaden guarding the doorway, the poster on her wall, anywhere but at Wheeljack. She felt betrayed and like her entire life had been a lie, everything, her entire life the past month was one long marching anthem of deception after another. What would she learn next? Did she live in the matrix where she was destined to wither and die in some disgusting cocoon without ever knowing the real world?

Wheeljack's hand touched her shoulder and her tight muscles flinched where she hadn't even known they were tense. She couldn't cry, it was hard to when she had already greaved to let anymore fall but it didn't mean the sting was any less fierce.

"Come here."

Wheeljack drew her to him and held her frail and stiff body in a tight hug, it was so tight that Anna could have sworn she heard her bones creaking but she didn't dare say she was uncomfortable. She wondered what he was thinking, did transformers even have emotions? They were giant, walking, talking alien robots after all. If so he probably hated her and if he was a Decepticon, at this point what did she know? He would probably kill her.

"I knew this would happen sooner or later."

She stiffened until she was sure not even a board could be compared to her rigidness. He began to stroke her head in the same way he always did by combing his nails through her hair and across her scalp, it always put her to sleep but at the moment all her mind could process was they might extend and pierce her scalp.

"You humans live such short and fragile lives I knew I he couldn't live forever but I never thought a Decepticon would be the one to take his life. I've lost a lot of friends and comrades to them."

Shocked, Anna looked up at his face and was surprised at the solemn look that plagued his downcast eyes that were locked on her. They were almost clouded and unseeing like the way she often looked when lost in thought and off creating the worlds in her writings except instead of a blank smile he held a blank frown which looked worn and oddly old in his young hologram's face.

"Jack?" she hesitantly asked, afraid of what his absent mind would be like when it came crashing back down to earth.

When they did his eyes brightened and his smile returned to his face. "You know when you turned sixteen and got your driver's license Michieal asked me to become your full time guardian. I already assigned myself as the family guardian but he wanted to ask me personally watch over you when he had to leave for the military."

She didn't know what to say to that so she asked, "You guys were good friends huh?"

"Yeah we were really good friends."

Though she knew his hologram was fake and she could see the flickers of his skin even now from his drained energy, he felt warm and the vibrations of his voice felt comforting like when he used to talk her to sleep with strange stories about another planet she never thought was real, but in fact was. As a young child she loved those fantasies and would ask him all the time about the planet's culture, pass times, games, and parties. He had an answer for everything and they were so glorious Anna was almost certain they were what lead her to love writing about different worlds now. At one point when she absurdly asked if she could ever go there, he had made her up as a transformer, though he never said they were giant robots, and began including her in on his 'stories'.

"It's getting late. Why don't you get some sleep?"

He released her and Anna sank obediently back down under the covers but she jerked a little when a bold fact she had forgotten popped into her head.

"Where's mom?"

"She's in the living room sleeping with the human John. She wore herself out with her emotions," he said matter of fact.

"She has a right to be mad but I don't know why the government signed me off as dead."

Wheeljack didn't answer her and began slowly stroking her hair while watching his flickering hand until she fell asleep.

"I won't let them get you. I promise on my spark."

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**Barricade showed his big sharp toothed mug in this chapter! What is he plotting? Nothing good that's for sure. *This is still a BarricadeXOC I'm just taking my time thickening the plot :3***


	21. Chapter 21

**As always, a huge thanks to all of my reviewers! **

**I hit 100,000 words yikes! I've never written this much before.  
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**Disclaimer: I do not own transformers or coach**

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Anna was in that darkness again, the one that only existed in her dreams but that was the strange part, she knew she was dreaming. Was she lucid dreaming? She had heard about people who suddenly became aware in their dreams though it differed on different levels. Some people were so aware they could manipulate the very space they were dreaming while others had no control and simply know they were dreaming, though it didn't mean their entire rational conscious was projected in the imaginary realm.

She stood in a city where only the cement roads beneath her feet and the skyscrapers towering above her were clear and distinguishable. Everything else was a blur; trashcans, lamp posts, stop signs, street lights, all of them she vaguely knew the name of but couldn't really see. The city was quiet and still, desolate of cars or people, even the occasional scurry of a small animals or the barking of a dog was absent. The sky was black and whenever she looked down a street it faded into the same neutral void which made the feeling of being alone even stronger, though it wasn't a bad feeling, she liked being alone but this emptiness did creep her out a little bit.

Anna found she could move freely so she wandered to the sidewalk and peered through the show case glass of a business with a sign that was blurred out so she couldn't read the name of it. There was nothing inside except more of the hazy blackness.

"_It's Starscream!"_

Anna jumped away from the window in surprise and whirled around to search for the familiar baritone voice that had echoed sharply in her head but she couldn't remember who it belonged to and there was still no one in sight. She stepped down from the side walk and that's when everything fell into chaos. The first explosion made her jump at least half a foot into the air and give a silent shriek that she knew her throat had made but it never met her ears through the deafening blast. There were more explosions, many more that began to crumble the buildings and sent everything ablaze.

Then there were hundreds of cars misconstrued in the street as if they had always been there. They were bumper to bumper, crashed into each other, smoking and burning but she couldn't smell it. There were people now too, all of them running and screaming, tripping over each other as they weaved through the parked cars. Their faces were blurred and indistinguishable but the screams of panic were clear enough.

Anna's instinctive fight or flight impulse jolted through her system and told her to run with the crowd and give into her irrationally fast beating heart that made her veins pulse harshly under her skin until her whole body felt like it was throbbing with the fear. But something more concrete and rational, a force she couldn't understand in her present state of mind kept her feet firmly planted by the sidewalk. She couldn't understand why she was paralyzed, was it the fear immobilizing her limbs? She wanted so badly to run, her instincts tearing her down into a terrified animal that wanted to follow the masses all running in one direction like a herd of startled wildebeest. She wanted so badly to tear away from the spot or jump out of her skin, she was beginning to make her panic but all she could do was shake with terror.

In the dark sky, over the screams, she could hear a distinct crackling sound that traveled through the air and grew as it became louder. There was a flying beige object swooping down through the skyscraper's dust and debris. An object released from its belly and shot off like a sizzling flare with a loud hissing sound and with a trail of condensation behind it; it smashed into another building setting it ablaze.

The ground began to tremble and what sounded like loud cracking and crunching sounds had her head whipping around just in time to see a black blur shooting past her and it fired a loud cannon that projected a blue and red plasma into the air. It collided with the flying object but the shining black robot in front of her received a hit to the shoulder in return.

"Ironhide!" Her entire conscious snapped to alert and she could remember who the mech was, what it was, and why it was there and she screamed for him out of fear. She had never seen the nearly impenetrable mech get hit before.

He was attacking a Decepticon in a city full of people who were rightfully frightened and running for their lives. With the sudden full realization of where she was and who was around her the paralyzing spell was broken and she was able to move out of the toppling Weapon Specialist's way.

He crashed the ground and not even a second later Ratchet was at his side firing at the Decepticon who transformed mid flight and crashed down to the ground tearing up the cars sitting in its way, sending them flying. Anna let out a panicked scream and ducked behind Ratchet's foot in a vain attempt to avoid the airborne cars that were flipping through the air with flaying sparks towards them. She didn't have time to get away from one of them and stared at it in terror as the large machine came spiraling towards her. She thought this was it, dream or not she would die but instead of flattening her like a pancake it flew right through her like a ghost.

The two Autobots smacked the vehicles away from them with almost as much ease as swatting a bug and the cars crashed into the buildings on either side of them. The beige transformer that was triangular in shape and held slanted red eyes set into a face with no noticeable mouth piece fired more missiles from a cannon and pushed off the ground with its lanky legs and transformed in a jet. Anna could feel the gust of wind from its rapidly swinging gears and limbs as it folded itself up and shot off into the black void that was now shimmering blue like the normal sky. There were more things above her head now too. Other Lockheed Martian's swooped around the air and dashed over the buildings with a roaring Doppler effect. The streets also now not only held civilians but soldiers yelling orders at each other as they scrambled behind destroyed cement and toppled cars.

"_Sam! Get to the building!"_

Anna jerked her head in the direction Ironhide was hollering and saw a young adult about the same age as her, dirty with a ripped up brown hoodie on and a strange large metal cube clutched under one arm. He ran right by her with a speed that could have meant the himself devil was after him, but running for your life had that effect on people. Anna looked at Ironhide and Ratchet struggling to stand with energon pooling from their midsections, a sight that startlingly reminded her of Sideswipe's brother and made her gut wrench. Making a split second decision she followed after the boy.

"_Listen to me, you're a soldier now!"_

More voices were echoing in her head, ones she couldn't place even in her full conscious but she didn't let them distract her from following the ruffled older teen until a black escalade came to a screeching halt just in time for him to slam into its hood. Anna watched sparks fly from the metal object he was holding, much like she had see pass between her fingers and the toaster in her kitchen before he took off running again.

To her amazement a man walking on the sidewalk screamed when the newly bought Xbox package burst open and metal arms protruded out of it, grasping for their captor. Behind him a Mountain Dew machine shuttered and transformed into a mini bot she knew quite well, Dewbot. Now she really felt a strong urge to follow the boy, at first it was a simple instinctive pull that had her following him but now curiosity as well. It was hard to process very much over the panic pumping adrenaline through her body.

She followed him through an old building with tall ceilings held up by pillars and its walls were littered with graffiti. She hardly had time to think of what was going on when a shrill echo cut through her head like a screech.

"_It's Megatron, retreat! Fall back!"_Ratchet, she understood it was his voice this time.

The ceiling caved in and an enormous silver transformer came crashing through the entrance she had just used, the same one that emerged from the ocean. Now the fear was completely imbedded in her too and she was running with the boy to save her own life, even with her shorter legs she was able to keep up. He raced up a long stretch of spiraling steps and she ran up with him, the monster transformer with gnashing teeth and blood red eyes below them.

"_Is it fear or courage that compels you fleshling?"_

That voice was the most terrifying one she had ever heard in her life and at that moment she wasn't so sure if she was dreaming anymore. The guttural growling, like the sound you would hear a tiger or a lion making while it prowled about its pray echoed in her head and made her limbs shake with fear.

"_Give me the Allspark and you may live to be my pet."_

"_Wake up Wake up!"_ she began screaming at herself in her own head.

Anna could have sworn the steps were beginning to sway beneath her feet and she was beginning to experience a horrible distortion feeling as everything began to sway.

"_No Sacrifice, no Victory."_

She thought the silver Cybertronian's voice was terrifying but a different, husky, rasping voice sent a new tendril of fear through her veins, one that seemed to boil them with the cold viciousness of their ghosting touch.

"_There you are," _It rumbled in terrifying satisfaction.

Just as quickly, another sensation raced through her blood, this one warm and powerful, it commanded the chilling presence back and nearly drove all of it away.

"_Hold on!" _That voice…it sounded just like Optimus Prime.

Everything around her dissolved and just as suddenly she was shooting up fully awake in her own bed with a rapid breath trying to fill her burning lungs with desperate oxygen

"Anna!"

She jumped from the anxiety of the built up fear and was hardly able to recognize her surroundings. She swung around towards the voice and punched whatever it was square in the face but it hardly moved against her powerful impact. Instead someone grabbed aholt of her wrist and that made her panic more.

"No! Let go of me!" She screeched and tried her damndest to pull away from whoever it was by thrashing.

Someone came up behind her and circled their arms around her body and pinned her to them so she couldn't move as much and that only made her fell trapped so she fought even more.

"Annabelle what's wrong? You need to calm down!"

She was held immobile long enough to become aware of her surroundings but by that time she was shaking and hot tears of fear were streaking down her cheeks. Ironhide's hologram was staring at her sternly in the face while pinning her hands and legs down and Wheeljack held her back flush against him in an almost crushing grip.

"Shh, it's ok you're awake and nothing's here to harm you," Jack tried to soothingly reassure her and rocked the young woman back and forth in a very human form of comfort. He had picked up a lot of habits from having to pretend to be human for so long, he even half raised her which was why it was so impossible to pick out he was an alien.

Anna went limp in his hold and tried to slow her breath and stop the horrible shaking that plagued her nerves. It was impossible how ever to get that last voice out of her head. Even now it echoed over and over in her mind, _"There you are."_

Anna swallowed hard and tried to sit up on her power. "I'm ok," she told them with a shaky voice. Now that the fear and present danger was dissipating, she just felt shaken and stupid, embarrassed that she had to be held down. She scolded herself and promptly made herself believe it was all just a dream…a nightmare and it was never real. But it felt so real.

"No you pit well are not." Ironhide barked.

"You were thrashing and emitting blue energy in your sleep," Jack added.

Anna felt her blood run cold. "What energy?"

"Allspark energy." Ironhide asked bluntly.

"I-"

Anna saw past the weapon-toting mech for the first time and saw her room that was in serious disarray. Her things were toppled over and papers were scattered everywhere from notebooks that once sat on her small desk. It looked like, literally, a tornado had come through her room. It was normally a bit messy but this was beyond even her. Kaden was even cowering in the corner; he was crushed up against the door and was staring straight at her. Anna felt horrible.

She wanted to believe everything was just a crazy dream her mind made up because of the carrier incident, she was bound to have some backlash from it and it seemed to have finally caught up with her. The boy in her dream was strange though, she had never seen him once in her life. This Allspark thing was really messing with her head in more ways than one.

"It was just a bad dream. No big deal."

Ironhide's frown deepened and an old scar near his lip crinkled with it. Anna wondered if his real body was riddled with scars like the ones she saw on his hologram. Maybe she didn't notice them because they were all of the imperfections she would associate with normal dents and scratches, though it was strange that his alt form never had a ding in it. The few times that his pain job had been messed up the imperfection disappeared after a couple days.

"No big deal my aft."

"'Hide! Don't use that kind of language around a youngling!" Wheeljack scolded.

"I'm not a child…," Anna instinctively snapped back.

They both ignored her. "The Allspark?" Wheeljack asked bemused.

Ironhide didn't look pleased. "The Allspark is the reason we came to this planet but it was destroyed by the Decepticons after we landed. Somehow this human female encountered a piece. We thought the effects would have worn off by now but apparently not. I'll have to contact Ratchet. Watch her for any further anomalies."

"Look…is mom still in the living room?" Anna suddenly asked.

Ironhide wouldn't give into her attempt to change the subject and she had to wait a few uncomfortable moments until Wheeljack answered, "Cindy and John haven't left the living room since last night. You need to talk to them."

Anna looked down at her misconstrued sheets and sighed. "I know. If y'all give me some space I'll get dressed talk to her."

Uncle Jack released his hold on her and stepped off of the bed and Ironhide baked off as well. 'Hide didn't push any further questions on her but the glare was enough to let her know he wasn't pleased and they would talk about it again.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Jack asked again.

Anna huffed, "I'm fine."

She shot the weapon-toting mech a sharp glare as they both flickered out and disappeared. Anna pulled herself out of bed, literally. Her head ace may have eased and didn't feel as if she were beginning to ascend into the depths of the ocean but she felt thoroughly drained like all of the energy had been zapped out of her even worse than before. She could have easily just gone back to bed and slept for another six hours but she really did need to talk to her mom and felt stupid for acting like a child and locking the door to her room without explaining anything. Running away was what children do, maybe Uncle Jack wasn't so far off, she thought.

Anna decided to pamper herself. It had been a while since she had dressed up at any length for anything and it was a good way to stall for time. She put on a light amount of makeup, just enough to cover any imperfections and curled her hair with a gel to make it less frizzy from the humidity. She changed into her favorite pair of boot cut jeans but it was a bit of a task since applying pressure to her already hurting leg wound made it worse. For a top she slipped into a nice blouse that was complimented by one of the few nice pieces of jewelry she owned, a turquoise necklace. To finish the ensemble she pulled on her good black-lizard skin cowboy boots that fit better than a glove. The leather was nice and shiny except for the toes that were a little scuffed up but it was probably getting close to time she resole them anyway.

Even after all of the gussying up she was scrambling for anything else she could do. Perhaps paint her nails? Anna wasn't all that big into clothes or make up but she really didn't want to leave her room and face the two adults in the living room. It was decided that painting her short nails would take more time than she could waste before one of the alien Neanderthals came poofing into her room. Griping the doorknob, she took a deep breath and opened it. Kaden scooting out past her first, the poor dog probably needed to relieve himself but he might have to wait a little longer.

Just where she left them, her mom and John were sitting on the couch sipping coffee and the room smelled vaguely of burnt food that she was sure wasn't residue from Uncle Jack's happy little accident. The sight of the two adults deterred her so she veered into the kitchen while feeling her mom's eyes glaring laser beams at her back. She poured herself a cup of coffee and didn't add anything too it, the blacker the better this morning, she thought it would be needed. Not to mention, sure enough there was another pan next to the one that was already doomed for the dumpster all black and crispy in the soap filled sink, her mom had tried to cook alright.

"Aww what a cute doggie. Hey there puppy come here."

John had set his espresso on the stand by the couch and was leaning over to coax Kaden who was sniffing around cautiously.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Anna warned and watched her Doberman pad up to him slowly from the corner of her eye.

Her mom who knew better practically leapt from the couch and walked over to the comforter across the small room and continued to glare at her daughter. John still didn't take the hint and stretched his flat hand out to the muscled dog in an attempt to let Kaden sniff him. Anna's dog didn't appreciate it one bit. He growled with a show of fang and snapped at his fingers. John scrambled back with a yelp and scooted further down the couch. Anna sighed, Kaden was a bred guard dog and purposely a one person kind of canine, that's why her dad had bought him for her, the dog simply didn't tolerate anyone else.

"So you're shacking up with two older men now are you? What else haven't you told me?"

Anna slammed down her coffee mug and winced when she thought it might shatter on the counter but when it didn't she whirled to face her mom.

"You know exactly who Uncle Jack is and 'Hide is a soldier who escorted me home after the 'incident'. He was also one of dad's friends so he wanted to stay and make sure I was ok. What does it matter to you who is in my apartment or not, anyway?" It was hard to keep her voice steady and on an even tone but through clenched teeth she managed. Her mother always thought she was childish and she was going to show her how wrong the woman was. Anna could act like an adult, especially since she legally was one now. Her mom hadn't even said happy birthday.

Cindy's face reddened and it was her turn to slam the coffee down but she set it on the ground next to her without so much as a clack of the ceramic mug against the linoleum wood. "What does it matter to me? It matters everything to me!"

She stood from the chair that rocked a little from her sudden movement and began walking towards Anna who had taken a hurried sip of coffee to hide the growing agitation coiling in her chest. She could at least blame the coffee for her surly coming snappish behavior, caffeine never mixed well with her body chemistry so she was drinking a very small amount at a time. She set the mug down just before her mom reached her and stared the older woman straight in the eye with stiff shoulders.

"Why didn't you call me after your father died?" she asked in a low and breathy sentence.

"Because I couldn't. I just got home." That was truth enough, Anna thought.

"After nearly a month you just got home? I find that hard to believe. You couldn't email me, text me, call me from any computer or phone? Instead I have to go to a mass funeral service thinking you're in it, only to come here weeks later to hear the landlady tell me you're here?" Her voice rose higher and louder with each sentence and Anna was beginning to clutch the counter with white knuckles.

"First of all," Anna started with an immense amount of control, "I never even got to go the funeral. The carrier blew up from a malfunction and I was rescued a while later with a small group of survivors. They kept us for a while to make sure we were ok and clean of radiation since the ships used nuclear cores," she told her mother the finely weaved story by the government without skipping a beat.

"Who's they?" her mother asked skeptically.

"Some military guys." It was a weak answer but she didn't know if she was allowed to tell anyone about NEST, they seemed like a pretty under the radar military branch.

"That doesn't explain why I got a letter declaring you dead."

"A mistake?"

Her mom fiercely scowled and stomped even closer, Anna had to look up because she was several inches taller. Anna thought she was going to get another slap and could help but cringe away when her mom's arms stretched outwards but she didn't expect to find herself being held in a tight hug.

"How could they have mistaken something like that? I thought for sure I had lost Michieal _and _you."

Anna could feel her tears staining her shoulder and went ridged with a loss for words. She wasn't very good at comforting or affirming others and just let her mom cry herself out of the few tears she had. With no choice but to look over her shoulder Anna stared down John who stood a ways back keeping eerily quiet. Anna never could figure out how her mom went from her strong willed dad to this quiet man. She hated him for two reasons, stupid reasons, but ones that she justified in her own mind. One, he was weak and didn't know how to voice his own opinion which allowed others to walk all over him, especially women. Two, he married her mom and Anna considered him a stranger, a person who she didn't associate with at all, it might have been wrong but she outright ignored him most of the time.

Just as suddenly as her mom had began to cry, she pulled away, holding Anna at arm's length and stared her sternly in the eye.

"What happened in here?" the blond woman suddenly asked. "It looks like a fire of some kind exploded in the living room and kitchen, why is there a hole in the wall? Tell me what's been going on right now young lady."

Anna hardly had enough time to switch gears. "Ah, the mess?" she began, "I thought it would have been obvious Jack happened again. You know how he gets with mixing compounds."

"How many times have I told that man the kitchen is not a laboratory?"

"Many. I think it's against deed restrictions to build an underground Dexter's laboratory so he substitutes my kitchen for one." Anna affirmed with a small smile.

Her mom laughed in a way that creased in her subtly aging face and surprised Anna again. "Say," she started in a voice that was almost playful. "Yesterday was your birthday right? The big eighteen? What do you say we go shopping and eat a little pizza, just you and I? Besides, I already tried to make breakfast but the dang stove wouldn't work right."

Anna warily smiled, "Sure mom-"

"No you may not," said a gruff voice.

"And why not?" Cindy asked sharply.

Ironhide's holoform glanced from Cindy to Anna and he unnecessarily cleared his throat.

"The 'doctor' wants Annabelle to return in concern for her health. We're leaving now."

Anna got the not so subtle hint and nearly went red in the face. "Give me at least a day to spend with my mom. I won't keel over if I don't leave right now."

His nose scrunched up with displeasure and his mouth opened to bring the hammer down on her unwillingness to cooperate but he was beaten to the punch.

"You really shouldn't question the doctor honey, especially after the reactor blew up. Maybe we should save this for another day. What's wrong with her?"

"They want to check up on ah, the delayed reactions that could be just now showing up," Ironhide stumbled.

Anna rolled her eyes even though she was feeling a swell of panic. What if the Allspark energy really had a delayed reaction and it was just beginning to really affect her? There was always the small and always dangerous thought of 'maybe it will go away' but apart that contributed to that thought was she really didn't want to be probed and chided at by the massive and always irritable medical officer.

She sighed knowing it was useless to delay the inevitable. "Just one day? We can leave first thing in the morning."

He stared at her sternly for a couple of tense seconds before growling.

"One day sounds just fine."

Nobody knew when Uncle Jack walked in and only Anna knew how but his sudden presence made nearly all of them jump except for Ironhide who was being held firmly by one shoulder and glaring up at the inventor.

"Come on 'Hide, let's give them some space."

The lanky hologram of Wheeljack began dragging the stout form of Ironhide who was shooting a nasty glare backed by an irritated snarl. He dragged him all the way out the door and shut it in front of them. Anna was impressed by his courage to drag the trigger happy mech out forcefully and suddenly respected him more, and thought he was even more stupid than before.

They left, just the two of them in her mom's silver sedan. John was told to stay and make himself at home and he happily obliged, something that wasn't too shocking to either of them. He still hadn't even spoken directly to Anna since both of them came and it was just fine by her.

Anna might not have been a big shopper while her mom was but she did enjoy getting out of the house and getting new things every now and then, it just meant she got burnt out faster, much faster than most shopaholics. It didn't help that her lids already felt like heavy bags of sand or the aching burn in her calf. They shifted through a couple stores at the local shopping district that was at least thirty minutes out from her apartment.

The first stop was a clothing store in which Anna found a couple new pairs of jeans and several shirts. The last thing on earth she needed was more junk jewelry but she couldn't resist when they went into a shop full of it. She never did get around to piercing her ears and wasn't planning on doing it any time soon but Anna managed to bag a good handful of necklaces and bracelets.

The last place they stopped was the Coach store where her mom treated both of them to a couple of cute bags they found on clearance. Anna wasn't a big girly girl but she wasn't a total tomboy either, while she might like darker colors and jeans over dresses, she liked to mix things up a bit every now and then and do some 'girl stuff'. It was a little bit hard to fully enjoy herself though because every time they came out of a shop Anna would see Ironhide's alt form rolling by or parked with her white pickup which she was now certain had to be Uncle Jack's real form. She checked a couple times to see if she could spot a burn mark or scratch on the white pickup but apparently he had been spared Ironhide's wrath, or dodged it somehow.

By the time they reached the pizza shop with arms full of bags Anna was ready to roll over on the floor and pass out right then and there, or scream bloody murder about her leg, but the fun she was having kept her mouth shut. It had been so long since she had done anything like this with her mom that she didn't want to spoil it by whining to go home over a hurt leg.

After they ordered she crossed her arms over the table and laid her head.

"Tired already?" her mom teased with a rare sparkle in her eye.

Anna lifted her head up, yawned, and glared at her through blurry sagging eyes. Again she was feeling the oncoming of a light head.

"Honey you don't look so good. Are you sure we shouldn't go home and have 'Hide take you to the doctor?"

Anna picked her head up off the table. "What happened to the shacking up reference? I thought you didn't trust him?"

"Here are your two small pizzas."

A young waitress with a wide smile placed the two steaming disks in front of the correct customer and gave both of them a glass of root beer. Both Anna and her mom thanked her graciously and they both took a bite.

"It's not that I don't trust 'him'. Remember what I've said to you since you we're young?"

"Don't trust anyone at first glance," Anna answered in a tiredly mocking tone.

They didn't talk anymore after that and they both dug into their steaming piles of delicious dough and sauce.

Close to the end of their meal her mom excused herself to the bathroom while Anna finished up her last two slices of jalapeno and pepperoni topped slices of heaven. Once she finished she stared around the pizza parlor and waited five more minutes for her mom to come out. By then she was beginning to wonder what the older woman could possibly have been doing to take so long in the bathroom. Anna got up from her chair and walked into the woman's room to check really fast and do her own business. Even when she was drying her hands there was neither hair nor hide of her mom in sight. Anna shrugged off the strangeness and before she could decide to start panicking and decided to see if she just missed her mom and the woman would already be back at their table.

Sure enough the older blond was standing by her chair and staring down at the meal they just had with a concentrated look on her face. Anna hopped she hadn't spotted a bug in her remaining food; Cindy would storm up to the manager and keep the two of them there for another thirty minutes plus causing an embarrassing scene. Thankfully she didn't seem too concerned when Anna called for her attention.

"What took you so long?"

Cindy looked up and gave her a broad smile, "I was just having some difficulties. I think we should head home and call it a day."

"Yeah ok," Anna stifled through another yawn, she didn't what to know what those 'difficulties' were, that was something classified TMI in her book.

Anna's mom left the building without picking up a single bag from their shopping spree which forced Anna to scramble and balance them out to the best of her abilities. Before even reaching the car Anna was becoming irritated at her mom, no doubt she had planned on her taking all of it and humiliating her daughter in the process. There was no doubt she looked ridiculous with the bags hanging on her shoulders, in her hands, and clenched in her teeth. Underneath all of the extra pressure and extra sweat the pain in her leg was growing and began to feel warm. She concluded walking on it so much had ripped the slow growing scab back open.

Anna glared at Ironhide and Wheeljack's still forms to help vent some of her frustration. Either of them could pop their hologram into existence and help her out but of course they would rather see her suffer.

Cindy unlocked the car and stood to watch Anna try and put their things into the back. Only when Anna slumped into the passenger seat did the older woman get in herself, locked the vehicle manually, and start it up. The ride home was quiet which Anna was thankful for. All she could think of was her nice soft bed which she hopped to crash in before falling asleep in the car. She managed to stay awake on the trip back but often began to nod off only to be awakened by the twitch of a muscle, or sometimes she swore a small electric shock shot through her.

Her mom parked the car in a vacant spot and Anna shouldered a few bags to take up by herself. She walked up the stairs with her mom in tow and juggled with the bags to unlock the door. Kaden was there to greet her but she wasn't able to bend down and give him the usual pat so instead she bent down and nuzzled his head, jerking away before she could get a face full of slobber. She dropped the loads behind the couch and glared at John who was laying on the recliner watching sports.

"Come and help me take some of this stuff up." Anna knew she sounded a bit snappish and she might have regretted her tone of voice on a normal day but she was dog tired and her mom wasn't helping one bit. In fact she was walking around the apartment idly as if to purposely ignore her.

With a heavy sigh the wiry man placed the remote down with a 'clack' and pulled himself up from the chair like it hurt but he didn't voice a complaint. Anna led the way back down to the car and together they were able to empty it out in one run. Back inside the bags were dropped next to the other ones and John resumed his position in front of the TV without a word. Anna rolled her eyes and went into the kitchen for a glass of water to satiate her parched throat caused by all of the extra sweating.

Once again she had to hop up for a glass, which forced her to grind her teeth against the pain shooting through her leg, but fortunately nothing came to life when she jumped down. Pressing the glass against the refrigerator's ice dispenser then under the water she slowly filled it up. Anna let a long yawn escape her lungs as she waited and thought the floor was looking pretty good right about now.

"WOAH!" John's panicked screech at the top of his lungs was so loud and sudden it made Anna jump and nearly drop her glass.

She whirled around to tell him off for yelling at his stupid sports game but the words caught in her throat when she saw the real reason. A human sized robot with medusa like protrusions on his skull and icy blue optics was stalking towards her with its sharp talons poised and she barely caught a glimpse of receding skin and blond hair that used to belong to her mom. Adrenaline shot through her and suddenly she was wide awake.

"Shit!"

On impulse she chucked her glass and the frail drink shattered against the creature's chest. Anna dodged away from it just in time to avoid its unnaturally long mechanical tongue that lashed out and punched a hole through the lower cabinet.

Anna raced into the living room and vaulted over the couch while John took shelter behind her recliner.

"What the hell is that thing?"

She ignored him as the mechanical tongue went through the head of her couch and leapt up to scramble into her dad's room where she slammed the door shut and locked it. She rushed to his closet, threw the doors open, and dialed the familiar combination to the large safe inside with shaky fingers. Hastily she pulled out her own double barreled shot gun, loaded it and stuffed as many loose rounds as she could into her pockets.

The wood door splintered when the tongue punched a hole through it and yanked back taking the only flimsy barrier between herself and the Cybertronian with it. Anna aimed her gun at the entrance just as it was emerging and pulled the trigger. The shotgun kicked back painfully into her shoulder and the sound of the blast in such a small space nearly made her deaf but the shell effectively stopped the humanoid Decepticon by blowing a large painful hole in its exposed arm, ripping through wiring and hydraulics.

Anna had figured even with an earth weapon, a shotgun at point blank had to do some damage. She was relieved to have been right but the moment the shell exploded and the creature fumbled with a mechanical pained screech Anna didn't relish in her success and took her chance to dart out past it.

Her wound was pounding fiercely but the magic of adrenaline and trying to save one's own life allowed her to mostly ignore it and spun around on it to fire another shot into its back. The smallish Cybertronian screeched again and doubled over. Anna dashed into the living trying to reload her gun in mid flight and barely caught a glimpse of John slamming the door open and darting out without shutting it. She followed suit and ran down the steps as fast as she could without tripping over them or Kaden who was hot on her heels, even a brave dog knew when it was time to retreat.

Flying into the parking lot she screamed as loud as her lungs would allow and tripped on the pavement.

"IRONHIDE!"

If he was transforming Anna couldn't hear it through her ringing ears but suddenly she was being scooped up from behind by large mechanical hands and her stomach dropped to her toes as she was lifted. Clinging to the fingers for added support she tried her best to shoulder the gun by its thin strap and tried to get a good view of the apartments now eye level at nearly three stories. She prayed none of the neighbors would look out their window but at this point it was a fat chance.

The human sized robot came crashing down the steps and jumped the last two stories. The moment its stabilizing servo hit the pavement Ironhide's bulky frame blocked her view and blasted the mini-bot with a single shell from a gun gripped in his hand that was small compared to his usual weaponry, though it still wasn't human sized or earth made by any standards. The humanoid transformer was blasted back into the ally of the apartments where Anna couldn't see where it went but there was an obvious grinding sound as it ripped through the metal steps and as it took them with it.

Anna came to the sharp realization that her gruff guardian wasn't the one holder her and that left only one mech. She turned her head around and looked up at a white transformer who wore a mask over his mouth and strange fins protruded from its head which lit up when he spoke.

"Uncle Jack?" she asked hesitantly, already knowing the answer.

He grinned broadly. "The one and only," he said in a voice that was mechanized but clearly owned by the Uncle Jack she knew.

Anna felt shock and relief flood her and with it the adrenaline that had kept her going. In an instant she was out like a light.

* * *

**Slow? I think not. Let's kick things up a notch next chapter, shall we?**


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: I do not own transformers**

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The cunning hunter had to clench his mouth plates together as his upper arm twitched with pain at the strong surge of electricity. He gripped it with the sharp talons of his other arm and grunted as blue sparks arched along the sensitive wirings under his black and white armor until it passed and he was left with a dead arm.

The last few solar cycles had not been kind to him. Barricade's systems had been steadily declining and not even the infamous Ratchet could figure out what why, not that the Autobot's would try very hard. He almost wished that the medical officer who could have easily passed off as a Decepticon would leave well enough alone. Each time the sour aft came to work on the hunter's systems he was in a fouler mood than before, even Barricade could tell the ancient 'bot was becoming increasingly aggravated with a matter completely out of his sight by the harsher and harsher treatment he received each visit. Being a source for vented anger not directed towards him was not lifting in the least. There was a painful reminder still fresh and stinging a bit from a wound the medic inflicted in his fury, the fact that Ratchet had to patch up his own damage only made the mech madder.

The only ongoing theory was extensive time without fresh energon had turned the thinning life source into a toxin that not only fried and shredded his circuits but left permanent nervous damage. It wasn't the best condition to be in for an attempted escape. He had hoped to regain enough strength to fight his way out if necessary but it looked like that wouldn't be possible. He would have to call off the human who was bringing him small parts bit by bit which he was using to construct a weapon to break the energon bars and defend himself with. A new plan would have to be made.

The other side effect seemed to be an extreme hunger that made him crave more and more energon which the Autobots were beginning to supply in an attempt to flush his systems. The pathetic fleshling lovers still believed he knew the whereabouts of Megatron and the other Decepticon's movements. None of this was going over very well for him. He wasn't valuable enough for the Decepticon's to bail out and he sincerely didn't have any information to give the Autobots. At the rate things were going he would die an inglorious death as a prisoner of war by shorting out in the brig from some unknown ailment.

The intelligence that Megatron was alive had been a shock, both a good thing and a bad thing at the same time. Good because who knew what Starscream was up to. The aerial commander had been in charge of the Decepticons for two solar cycles and everyone had made speculations in the past how if the notorious 'con ever made good on his word and overthrew the warlord that the Decepticon army would fall apart. Then again, when he left Cybertron under the fliers command in search of Megatron and the Allspark any being they encountered was eliminated with mostly brute force, but sometimes they did it in a calculated and surprisingly intelligent way that no one would expect the groveling air commander to be capable of. He was smarter than most 'cons gave him credit for and that made Barricade look his way twice.

The bad, well let's just say he was trapped deep in Autobot territory and he would just be counted as another casualty in Megatron's eyes. Starscream might have seen him as important enough to break out, though even that is questionable with Starscream's shifting motives, but certainly not the mighty tyrant that could crush him with a single fist.

Barricade flexed his arm when the feeling began to return and read the internal scans that of course came up with nothing out of the ordinary. He picked himself up from the wall and cocked his head sluggishly to attention. The echo of several pairs of feet drew his red optics to the brig's entrance where ten humans armed with primitive weapons strapped to their back entered the room. A strange prod that was wired to their packs was clutched in their hands at a tense attention position, sticking strait up over their shoulders like a rifle. Barricade sneered at the sight of the ringleader who was unarmed and dressed in a sharp suit. The one human he wouldn't have wanted to slag more than any other creature on the mud ball planet he was stuck on, Galloway.

The liaison leads the group up to the front of his cell which caused the Decepticon to straighten with a growl he could feel growing in his vocal processors. The human hadn't even looked at him yet, instead he stood there fiddling with the cuff of his suit before finally looking up at the Decepticon with a nervous smile. The hunter's optics narrowed and the withheld growl vibrated in his chest at an audible volume. If only he could reach through the bars he could have killed the naive flesh bag with one taloned servo, snuffing out the thorn in his side in less than a nano click. He wouldn't be smiling smugly at him then.

"How are we felling this fine evening? Not so good? I'm sorry to hear that. Well, it's my gain."

The liaison paused as if waiting for Barricade to answer but the powerful 'con wouldn't give him the honor. He would not indulge the petty organic by adding to his unintelligent banter.

"I hear the Autobots weren't able to fix you and that the reports say you don't have very much time left."

Galloway folded his arm behind his head and snapped his fingers then motioned his hand forwards in a sharp cutting motion. The soldiers hustled around him at the silent command and Galloway casually placed his hand into his pants pocket. Putting on a show of comfortably walking by the looming Decepticon, he nervously strolled over to the control panel.

"Since it would be a shame to let a living specimen go to waste we've decided to take it upon ourselves to try and fix you. Doesn't that sound like a promising idea?"

The soldiers circled the cage, held their prods up and the pronged tips began sparking with white electricity. So the humans wanted a piece of him now too. The insects finally built up enough courage to go against their agreements with the Autobots and they were about to try and take matters into their own hands, Barricade almost laughed. How ironic was it that the Autobot's were trying to protect a species that was just as deceitful, if not more so than their sworn enemies?

"Now be a good little Decepticon and come with us quietly so we can see what exactly makes you tick."

Galloway released the lock on Barricade's cell making the pink energy bars disperse and the Decepticon wasted no time in retaliating. If the humans wanted to make a stupid move then let them and take advantage of it. Barricade swung his arm low and swiped a human, screaming into the metal wall where the fragile body cracked against the hard surface before sliding lifelessly to the floor. Another human jumped into his place and the soldiers converged on him from all sides with their only defense the sparking weapons held out in front of them that barely felt like a prick against his armor. Barricade disposed of a couple more humans and began to make his way towards Galloway; he wasn't going to pass up his chance at killing the insect before leaving. He was well on his way to reaching the now shaking and sweating human when his unprotected back received a horrendous shock that wasn't caused by one of the humans.

The hunter howled in agony and fell to his knees as his entire body convulsed with the powerful current ripping through his spinal column. The soldiers took their chance and added to the electrical current by shoving their tiny prods under his armor and directly into his wiring. _Curse this planet to the Pit!_ He snarled and tried to gain control of his limbs so he could twist around and crush all of the humans. None of his body parts responded but a rogue twitch from his foot collided with a human and sent them sailing.

"Hurry up! Get those restraints in here!" Galloway's distinct orders were the last things Barricade heard before his systems over loaded and his CPU initiated an emergency shutdown.

* * *

Something was pricking her side but Anna was nearly too tired to care. She wanted it to just go away and let her sleep. She nearly drifted off several more times but loud crashing sounds and sharp barks kept bringing her mind back from the dark comfortable place she wanted stay in. Finally, they were irritating enough to bring her fully out of semi-consciousness and her mind snapped to being immediately alert. Where was she? What was the strange swaying feeling under her and what were all the strange noises that were echoing all over the place? She opened her eyes and realized she was lying down in a carrier plane much like the one she had come in. From her position on the floor she could see tires; Ironhide and Wheeljack were folded down in their alternate forms parked at the center of the plane and the space that was fairly empty otherwise. A few NEST military personnel were sitting on steel benches lining the walls and they were talking quietly amongst themselves.

The pricking sensation in her hip was becoming more than a nuisance as her fogged mind had interpreted and it actually hurt now. She shifted into a sitting position but a quick hand on her shoulder startled her. Anna jumped slightly and whipped her head around to see a man she didn't recognize dressed in a NEST outfit that had a clear red cross sewn into their shirt. A doctor?

"Calm down miss. Just lay down you're fine," he said in a calm voice.

She wasn't affected by his attempt to sooth her and looked around her surroundings with wide eyes.

"Where am I? Where are we going?"

"You're being sent back to base with those two Autobot's over there. They called in a panic requesting an immediate plane ride back and a medic. From what I know, the solders here we were the only staff in Texas because they were on temporary vacation so headquarters ordered to accompany y'all."

He seemed content in telling her everything he knew to get the young woman to calm down and she wasn't surprised that the medic didn't know very much of what was going on himself.

"I don't know why they were in such an uproar though. You were fine and only sleeping. Completely whipped out apparently," he added with a light chuckle.

He broke his gaze and glanced over at the still form of the Autobots. Anna glanced over at them as well and couldn't help but look past them at a spread of solitary on the floor in front of a solder crouching from the bench who was flipping the cards over. She shifted all the way to a sitting position while trying to blink away the blurry tiredness in her eyes and felt another sharp stab in her side.

"Ouch," she hissed quietly and reached down to find the problem. She pulled out the IPod Sideswipe had given her and remembered stuffing it impulsively into her jeans pocket that morning, apparently she had been laying down on it long enough to allow the small device to dig an uncomfortable indention into her skin. The small word echoed around the space quiet space with only the back drop being the steady drone of the engines. A loud rev an engine made all of the humans jump and a couple yelped with surprise.

Nobody commented on the short show of temper. A lot of the NEST soldiers were a little wary around the Autobots and it was apparent this small group hadn't had much contact with the transformers, if their silent behavior and cautious glances were any indication. There was however, a vicious barking that erupted from a corner of the cargo bay in response. Anna smiled a little when she saw Kaden growling through a large dog kennel with an impressive show of fang. At least she knew he was safe.

"Shut up you stupid mutt!"

A wiry man with short brown hair banged a hand against the plastic kennel making her Doberman even more furious.

"Hey stop it!" she shouted in angry defense for her dog.

"Then why don't you tell it to shut up!" The first words he had spoken to her since walking through the door of _her_ apartment had to be directed at her companion she had raised since a puppy.

"Go fuck yourself John," she told him with venom.

"Miss…" the medic tried to softly coax but he never got the words out.

"Hell no! I've had enough of you and those friggin robots! My wife is missing because of you and I'm stuck in this crap hole!" he wasn't even man enough to properly cuss she thought mildly. Her mom was missing? That's right, the robot couldn't have been her mom, when did they switch? How did it happen?

Her glare changed to bewilderment as she tried to figure out how a robot had been able to disguise itself as her mom and she didn't even notice it. Maybe because she was too tired to care about any strange behavior it might have shown. The other strange thing was its optics were icy blue, like the Autobots and it was clearly after her life. After Dewbot betrayed her she went to strictly believing blue optics meant good guys and red optics mean bad but now she was questioning that theory again.

John glowered at her absent face until a shrill ring had him whipping a cell phone from his pocket. The moment he put the device to his hear the older man's face melted into relief.

"Oh thank god. Cindy are you ok? Where are you?"

There was a momentary lapse as he listened to the other side of the phone before he spat, "Yes she's here…..No!"

There was another lapse before he sharply shouted, "No!" again.

Kaden's barking which had begun to settle into a growl picked up again after his sharp exclamation.

"Shut up!" John shouted and banged the kennel again making Anna's shoulders tense. If he hit it one more time she was going to pounce him and let Kaden loose to have his way.

"Why would you…" he faltered.

The voice on the other side was becoming so loud that even Anna could pick up someone was shouting but not what was being said.

"Fine I'll give it to her!"

John stomped to his feet and began marching over towards Anna with a furious frown which made her jump sharply to her feet. It wasn't a good idea on her part, after lying on the thin matt for so long the sudden movement made all of the blood rush out of her head and a black veil of dots corrupted her vision momentarily and her balance felt off kilter. Both engines revved and a creaking sound echoed in the hollow space but the distinct song of transformation never initiated. It was enough of a lapse that when her vision returned John was holding the phone out to her like it was diseased and the NEST medic was pushed in front of her in an attempt to keep them separated.

She reached around to the extended hand and snatched the cell phone into her own and withdrew it to her ear. It was disgustingly still warm from his palm.

"Mom?" she asked hesitantly.

"Sweetie is that you? Oh thank god! I was attacked by some man in the restroom, he knocked me out and stuffed me into a stall! I was worried he went after you too."

Anna felt sickeningly ashamed. Her mom had been in the bathroom the whole time and she didn't think to check the stalls after calling her name and not hearing anyone else. But her mom also said she was attacked by a man, that meant she never saw the robot.

"I'm glad you're ok. I couldn't find you and went home to ask Uncle Jack and 'Hide for help."

"Liar!" John shouted and lunged at her.

The medic tried to hold the irate man back and the soldiers tensed as it took all of his effort to keep the irate man away.

"Honey, I went to your apartment and everything's a wreck! The fire department and police where there and neighbors were saying there was a gunfight!"

Anna gulped. "That man you were talking about was probably the one that followed me home and broke in. Jack and 'Hide were able to fight him off but we had to make a run for it."

Her mom couldn't know about the transformers, she didn't want her mom to know about the transformers. It was better if she thought a homicidal man had targeted them for some unknown reason.

"Where are y'all right now?" her voice was beginning to calm if only a little but Anna could hear the stuffy sound in her voice indicating she had been crying.

"The guys thought it would be best to fly back to the military base because it's safe there. You should go home too." Anna thought she wasn't too far off from the real reason she was now bound to Diego Garcia.

"Can you do me a favor?" she asked as an afterthought.

"What is it?"

"Well if you can…could you get my laptop and…stuffed wolf from my bedroom?"

Her mom laughed on the other end and Anna felt her face heat up with embarrassment.

"Sure Honey I'll save them from the big bad police."

"Thanks…I'll see you soon ok? I'll call again when I get the chance."

"You better," her mom said in a stronger scolding tone then added, "Don't let John give you too hard of a time."

Anna hung up with a sigh but the fading embarrassment and relief were short lived when John broke from the medic's hold.

"Stop lying! What is with all the goddamn robots?"

He lunged at Anna and was able to get a strangle hold on her. She was surprised by the strength of the wiry man and went painfully to the ground back first with the smallish man shaking her neck between his crushing hands. She gripped his arms gagging and spared nothing of her strength as she dug her short nails into his flesh, scratching at his arms as her airway became painfully restricted.

The NEST soldiers on the other side of the plane leapt to their feet shouting at the man and kept going even when the two Transformers engines revved so loud they drowned out Kaden's barking. All five of them fell on top of John and began trying to pry his fingers away from her throat. Two of them were trying to lift him away but they only succeeded in taking her with him. One of the soldiers took out a solid object Anna couldn't identify through her blurring vision that was beginning to tear up naturally from the lack of air and could clearly see they were planning to smash it over John's head. They never got the chance when two figures darted into the crowd faster than her eyes could track with comprehension and just as quickly John was flung off of her and the two soldiers behind him fell flat on their butts with a bewildered look.

Anna coughed violently and clawed at her throat while desperately sucking in the air she needed. She didn't get to see what happened because the dutiful medic even for his obvious newness in the field blocked her front and was trying to shove an oxygen mask on her. She didn't want anything on her face but he won out and she sucked in the pumping air. Her head hurt from the lightheadedness but thankfully her ragged breath was slowing. The man gingerly looked at her neck, prodding it with his fingers.

She felt too jittery to want anything hindering her so the moment her lungs could suck in air normally she tore the mask off and assured the medic she was fine. He looked doubtful but took the device away anyway and packed it back into its place. With the new shift in his position Anna could finally see the commotion and wasn't all too surprised to see Ironhide's hologram pinning John to the wall several feet off the ground. The soldiers were standing a decent distance from them with all of their backs turned to her. Wheeljack's hologram appeared next to Ironhide with a rope in hand and quickly went to work binding the thrashing man.

"Get away from me you freaks! Damn you all!"

"Shut up!" Ironhide barked and slammed his back painfully into the wall for emphasis.

John effectively shut his yap and watched 'Hide with wide frightened eyes.

When Wheeljack finished Ironhide held John close to his face while still dangling him in air and muttered something Anna couldn't hear before he was thrown to the soldiers.

"Do something with your defective human," he ordered strongly.

They wasted no time in grabbing the heaving man and dragged him to a corner of the plane. Anna got up against the too soft medic's wishes and walked over to Kaden's kennel where she plopped down and began petting him through the bars. He abruptly stopped snarling and began franticly licking her fingers.

"Its ok boy," she told him softly but felt more like she was assuring herself.

Anna was aware of the presence of Ironhide and Uncle Jack poofing next to her, ok they didn't poof they flickered on, but there was an air of energy she could feel when they appeared. Neither of them touched her but Uncle Jack was the first to speak softly. "You are undamaged?"

Anna nodded jerkily without looking at them. She stayed like that for a while, just sitting there petting her dog and eventually she was aware the two had dissolved their holograms. Instinctively she could feel several pairs of eyes staring down her back but she tried her best to ignore them. Only when her stomach growled loudly did she stop stroking the finally content Doberman's head. She was starving and couldn't figure out why. It couldn't have been very long since she had eaten pizza and she had even gotten a whole extra pan. Usually she wasn't hungry until the next night after eating such a filling meal but already her stomach was flat and groaning for more.

With the panic gone and everyone calmed down considerably Anna felt exhausted. She went back to the mat that was still next to the medic who was currently busying himself with something in his large and expensive professional emergency bag and laid down with her back to the two Cybertronians. The medic asked if she was alright, she nodded and threw an arm over her eyes to block out the light and fell asleep after a while of just lying there thinking.

She woke up a few more times during the long flight. There was no telling how long she was out the first time she was loaded on without her knowledge and after each short nap she took. The gnawing hunger seemed like the biggest culprit for waking her up but a strong unease was bubbling inside of her as well that she couldn't name. Finally she was able to do so without further disruption to her much needed nap.

* * *

_Systems rebooting_

_Recalibration 88%_

Several windows flickered to life across a blank screen with Cybertronian text scrolling hastily across them. The internal systems were checked first, 45% damage to several major pumps, frayed wiring, energon levels normal, electrical currents reaching unsafe outputs. As the monitor continued to list the more specific components that needed attention, the damage percentage kept rising steadily.

He was seeing all of this sluggishly but when his processor were able to come more online he shut the irritating text off and manually forced his optics to reboot in less than a nano second. The only thing in his sight was a bare concrete ceiling and when he tried to move he found his limbs were restrained by his wrists and ankles. Instinctively, he reached his scanners out to get a better assessment of the space around him and counted five humans in a single room humming with electricity from a multitude of machines.

A throaty growl emitted from his throat and Barricade tried lurch to a stand only to be yank back by thick heavy chains and found it impossible to pry himself free which made him even angrier. Perhaps if he weren't so weak then the chains wouldn't have been a problem. He cursed in his native tongue.

"Finally awake are we?"

The Decepticon swiveled his head and glared viciously as Galloway walked directly into his line of sight. The man had no backbone and it was obvious he was putting on a forced show to look tough in front of the formidable Decepticon who wasn't the least bit impressed. Oh, that human would pay.

"It appears we'll have to operate, or so the reverse engineer seems to say. Wouldn't want to miss out on any of the fancy equipment ticking inside of you to go to waste, now would we?"

Barricade could care less on whatever the lowly organic life form was chattering about in its own incessant language. He knew what they were after and they wouldn't get it. On his other side a miniature saw usually used for self repair popped out of his wrist and began cutting at the thick steel chains. The humans were oblivious to his already beginning escape because their inferior audio receptors couldn't pick up the grating of metal against metal through the sound of machinery that was busily clanking loudly in the background.

"You would think you have struck an energon mine but that is only because your small minds can only focus on one thought at a time."

Galloway looked at him puzzled, seemed to think about it for a minute, and was about to dismiss the words he didn't understand but Barricade continued to keep the thoughts rolling.

"If it is power you seek I know a much stronger source that could build war machines far more powerful than anything you could haphazardly reverse engineer off of me, or were creating from Megatron."

Barricade restrained himself from spitting the warlords name, it was disgraceful how he was captured and used by these disgusting organics to literally build their empire from his components. It was a bit disbelieving and insulting that Megatron would allow himself to be used in such a way; he was definitely out for blood when he awoke two solar cycles prier. It was almost laughable that the weapons and technology which made them feel so great and powerful stemmed from the very core of what would be their down fall. If Megatron was really back then he would bring his raining terror down upon the planet in an irrational act of revenge and the human race would parish the moment the Autobots were no longer a threat.

"Oh really?" Galloway stated in a disbelieving tone. "And what would we have to do for you?"

Barricade sneered; this human was a bit more intellectual than the others.

"Nothing, but let me go and I'll show you."

Galloway scrutinized him sharply and backed a foot away from the intimidating predatory stare.

"Are you really going to believe that? Sir we need to start before anyone finds out," someone called from close by.

Galloway seemed to snap back to attention and he hastily pushed his glassed back up the bridge of his nose.

"Then start it already! We're wasting time!" He shouted back without another thought to Barricades proposition.

He stalked out of Barricade's view who roared and began straining harder against his chains. The one he had been working was weakened enough that it snapped and he was able to free his lower arm but there were so many of the primus forsaken things that it hardly made a difference. His steadily draining levels were becoming critical and it was time to escape now or risk being dismantled by the insects.

A mobile bridge was maneuvered over his chest area where several soldiers were scurrying about it with a multitude of crude power tools. Hanging underneath the platform though was a massive drill bit much like the kind often used in offshore oil rigs. He roared at the humans and several of the men jumped back in fear. A fair few of them scurried off the platform but the braver ones that remained began punching commands into a consul.

"Stay away from me or I'll kill you." He growled through his steak knife sized teeth.

They hesitated but didn't stop their manic clicking. The drill was maneuvered over the center of his chest and the massive machine was turned on with a loud whine that made Barricade's spark pulse increase. Struggling even harder, a few more chains snapped under his impaired strength but a sharp jolt of electricity from his internal systems forced him into a short series of convulsions, he was beginning to panic.

The drill came closer and closer until his acute sensors could register the artificial wind gushing from the rapidly spinning tool. Now he was frantically pulling at the restraints as pure anger and panic flooded his systems.

"I'll kill you all!"

The primitive drill bit came down on his chest armor and the squealing and sparking it caused was horrendous to his audios and the applied pressure was forcing it to dig a crater through even his tough Cybertronian armor. He jolted and twisted with a roar of pain.

* * *

Anna faded in and out of sleep right up until she was vaguely aware of being held in place as the massive plane landed. The pilot was an expert though and she could hardly feel a jolt when the wheels touched the runway but the powerful surge from the breaks definitely brought her mind a little bit out of the fog. The sounds of the plane's engine winding down as it came to a comfortable coasting speed faded out along with her eye sight and she was nearly asleep again. She wanted nothing but to be left alone, free from the sounds that kept waking her from a blissful rest. But it was hard when the gnawing hunger in her stomach spread to her chest. She felt a yearning for something, wanted it, needed it, but couldn't understand what 'it' was.

The longer her muddled mind tried to ponder it behind closed eyelids the stronger the sensation became until it spread all through her limbs. It seemed to be tugging, urging her in the right direction but Anna couldn't find the strength to get up and follow the impulse. Her physical body might not have been responding to her but the pulling seemed to take her own mind with it, stretching it towards the thing it wanted through a hazy blackness. Curiously, she let it take her towards the source of her yearning and could feel a strong pulse grow as she neared.

When she found it the source was a red hot beacon that she could almost see, a madly sparking sphere of aggressive red energy that strung and splattered out like spewing molten lava or the surface of an active sun. Anna hesitate to reach out towards the menacing ball of energy but the unreasonable yarning pulled her slowly towards it, she reached for it, a feeling much like stretching her own arm. She brushed it tentatively and the moment she touched it the energy arched wildly for her, wrapping all of its spewing energy around her, encompassing her being. A white hot ripping pain tore through her insides, spreading to every tendril and boiling her veins.

Anna tried to scream and pull away but the force kept a strong hold on her no matter how hard she struggled.

* * *

Before the carrier plane could taxi to a full stop chaos erupted in its cargo hold. Anna's sleeping form began sparking wildly with blue electricity, forcing the medic to jump back with a terrified start. It arched over her body in erratic strands that were slowly beginning to spread out from her body in a slow circle. The moment the large door opened to the runway Ironhide and Wheeljack squealed their tires against the floor and shot out onto the pavement which surprised awaiting NEST personnel. The other soldiers in the carrier grabbed a wide-eyed John and hurriedly dragged him off with them.

They barely began transforming when wailing sirens announced the arrival of Ratchet followed by a string of military hummers and running soldiers converging on the carrier. The lime-green emergency vehicle barely screeched to stop long enough to transform before he was sprinting for the plane's entrance, clearly in a furious hurry before anyone even had a chance to see something was wrong inside.

"Ratchet!" Ironhide shouted urgently to the medic in an obvious panic.

"Stand aside!" The medical officer shoved his way into the carrier but had to throw a large hand in front of his face plates against the intensity of the visible energy inside. The blue electrical currents were arching from the walls, ceiling, and floor but still all coming from a very obvious source, Anna's still body that was sweating profusely with eyes skewed tightly shut in her trapped nightmare. It was just as he feared.

Ratchet grunted as he pushed his way through the tight space, grimacing as the energy attacked and stung through his armor. He ignored the assault that seemed to be prodding him testingly, messing with his scanners that were flickering wildly with corrupted information, it was searching for something.

"Ironhide! What's going on?"

A military hummer came to an abrupt stop where Will Lennox was hanging off the rear door. He jumped off quickly and raced up to the tense Weapon Specialist with Epps hot on his heels. The weapon-toting mech who already had his cannons whining and full of readied plasma energy regarded the one of the few humans he considered a friend and comrade with a swift frown as he jerked his head towards the plane.

"It's the Allspark!"

Will didn't get to the chance to question further as Ratchet withdrew from the plane's insides with Anna carefully cradled in his outstretched servos, sparking with blue energy.

"Get back! Clear the vicinity!"

None of the soldiers had seen Wheeljack before but his sharp command had them leaping away to create a path for the medical officer who was rushing down the runway towards one of the far off buildings. Several of the Autobots including two shinning Lamborghinis stopped a respectable distance from the chaos and transformed as Ratchet hustled by them. They didn't follow him down into the building but Ironhide and Wheeljack did followed by a much slower running William Lennox and Epps.

When a massive door opened a sheer bright blue light mixed with the most agonizing screams of a Cybertronian they had ever heard made Ironhide and Wheeljack falter long enough that Will and Epps caught up to their heels. Ratchet didn't even wince as he rushed into the room where a blue mech was hovering with gritted dental plates over Barricade who was strapped to the floor with his chest busted through with the energy springing out from his very spark. Prowl was standing at a distance, pressed against the wall and was shouting for the mech to 'plug up the hole already'.

It was clear that the energies spewing from both the human girl and the injured Decepticon were from the same source leaving Ratchet with only one immediate solution to their critical state just as he feared. He doubted if it would work and it could possibly make everything worse, resulting in a powerful explosion that would kill every human and 'bot in the room, but the two energies that were as clear as day to his a tuned sensors were clearly a negative reaction of the Allspark.

The cobalt blue Autobot quickly leapt out of Ratchets way. "He's going critical! I think it's going to explode!"

"Get them out of here!" Ratchet ordered sharply.

Nobody in the room needed a second command or urge to rush back through the door, tripping over each other, and shut it to leave Ratchet with the two patients. the hissing electricity from both the girl and 'con spread out into the room, bouncing off of each other making the light show even more frantic. Before Ratchet could even come relatively close, the energies arched from the two afflicted beings and sharply turned on each other. The electricity from Barricade wrapped around Anna, touching her skin before disappearing under it only to be followed by more continuous strike of blue energies. Barricade was unknowingly suffering the same fate as the electricity from her collided and shot through his plating and into his very wiring and spark.

Ratchet did the only thing he could, he brought them closer and with baited intakes he prayed to Primus this would work.

* * *

**Eeep that was a fast paced chapter. I hope the bounced around perspectives made it a bit tenser instead of just confusing and irritating. I don't think Galloway was portrayed very well in this chappy, well the way i want him portrayed at least.  
**


	23. Chapter 23

**Ick, this was one of those chapters no one wants to write but it has to be done. I had a little bit of writer's block this chapter too so it took a bit longer to finish and as a result I'm not a happy camper with the way it turned out.  
**

**- I'm ****definitely**** not on board with Megan Fox's replacement. The chick is ugly and anorexic. Sam doesn't need a love interest for the movie to be good anyway. They should develop his relationship with Optimus or maybe Bumblebee in a friendship way. This fangirl demands to see more human/'bot and bot'/'bot interaction!**

**On a special note**: I'm officially graduated from High School as of today! (Does the happy dance**)**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Transformers

* * *

Usually it took forever for her to wake up, Ann would normally lie in bed for an extra thirty minutes before even attempting to get up but this time she was wide awake and clearly not in her own bed. She sat up immediately, feeling quite energized and jittery as if she just had just downed a cup of coffee or two. But instead of the crazy and hyper feeling she usually got from caffeine she felt quite content, the yearning from before was nearly gone and left in its place was a warm fuzzy feeling floating in her chest-humming outwards to every other part of her body in a steady pulse. But there was still just something that still felt…off.

The feeling only lasted for a few seconds because questions flooded her mind as she glanced the unfamiliar room. It was massive by human standards but she would have placed it as quite cramped even for her at the moment. Her back was rightfully sore from the metal table she had been resting on and it was high off the ground giving her a good vantage point. The metal room was crowded with bulky equipment that had been shoved together in a way that suggested they had been set up in a hurry though still strategically placed to look somewhat neat and orderly. They beeped steady rhythms and displayed screens scrolling with bars and letters that she was becoming to understand as Cybertronian, but as to what they said, she had no idea.

To her horror some of the machines were attached to her by small sensors stuck to her skin along her arms that were connected to a set of the beeping monstrosities. It almost seemed ridiculous to be strapped to something so much larger than her.

"Ratchet, sir. The female is awake."

Anna jerked her head to the side and saw for the first time a cobalt blue Autobot that she didn't recognize. His features were smooth and young looking like Sideswipe's though he was bulkier and possibly shorter. He held in his hand a massive data pad and was bent over something at the edge of the table she couldn't see from sitting at the center but her heart wrenched towards it, a compelling feeling that made her want to get up and look over the edge but she held herself.

"I'm well aware of that," Ratchet snapped irritably back. He was across the other side of the room fiddling with one of the machines that was connected to a long, thick wire filled with a blue substance that disappeared under the table.

Anna cringed at hearing the grumpy CMO and a sudden horrifying realization came to her. Where they experimenting on her? She pat herself down to check for anything strange. Nothing hurt and nothing felt off but that didn't mean they weren't going to do something later... After the past month or more she didn't know what to trust anymore. All she knew that was sound was the shard her dad gave her, a piece of something called the Allspark that the transformers claimed brought their war to her planet, melted into her skin and made her have random attacks of energies that usually only afflicted her in sleep. She even brought something to life that tried to kill her.

She had to get out of there; she concluded and in a panic began ripping the sensors painfully from her skin. They came off with a _'pop pop' _as the suction gave way and she forcefully threw them down as far away from her as she could.

"Stop that!" the blue Autobot snapped with a start but looked too uncertain to move and stop her and she was well aware and ignoring him.

"Ratchet the female's lost it!"

The machines began screeching and beeping frantically at the absence of her vitals and the sheer volume forced her to clamped firm hands over her pounding ears and cringe against the onslaught. Ratchet walked over with a grimace on his facial plates, taking the room in three quick strides and fluidly disabled the machines with a twist of knobs and punches of codes into number pads so everything became fairly quiet again except for the few that were functioning on the other side of the room. That was until more beeping sounded from those as well but with a more subdued tone than the ones Anna ripped from herself.

"Perfect," Ratchet grumbled in displeasure.

"Sir, the Decepticon is coming on line." The blue Autobot said tersely.

Anna's mind whirled, _Decepticon?_ She stared wide eyed up at Ratchet waiting for the thirty foot medic to pounce or force the machines back on her but he just continued to stare at her grumpily with icy blue optics that bore into her with their swirling and glowing intensity.

"You need to calm yourself."

Anna frowned at him and opened her mouth to speak but he beat her to it. "I'll explain the situation after he's woken up but for now, calm yourself."

His voice was not raised to a yell but the chastising overtone had her lips puckering. It sounded like a chastising coach telling her to 'pipe down' after whining about a lost goal. He must have been referring to her vitals, like her heart beat, she guessed.

Ratchet shifted forwards which caused Anna's heart to hammer against her chest. Quickly, she scrambled backwards, her palms smacking against the cold metal before he froze at her obvious withdrawal. She was a trapped rat. There was no getting away even if she wanted to. From her perch that was chest height with Ratchet she could only assume that jumping off would be suicidal and she doubted he welded a ladder into this area like he had the medical bay.

"What is wrong with you human? Do I need to check your processor?"

A whirring sound shattered through the beeping machines and Anna scooted the rest of the way to the edge to peer over the side though still ever weary of the glaring cobalt Autobot looming nearby.

Her mouth fell open and a small gasp of surprise escaped her lips at the sight of a Decepticon below her, not just any Decepticon, the one from the brig. It was strapped to the floor by various chains and it was obviously not conscious if even alive. Where there used to be blazing red quadruple orbs, its optics were blank like a screen that had been turned off leaving nothing but four gray angry slants and Its steak knife size teeth still looked menacing in their slightly parted state. Its lack of movement did nothing to lessen the Decepticon's terrifying, predatory look.

After she got past his impossibly terrifying facial features she found another glaringly obvious problem. It's chest was torn viciously open like something had punched straight through its armor, or blasted through it with anti-tank artillery since that's all she could think of that could damage the impossibly hard Cybertronian armor. Beneath the black twisted plating that once resembled a Mustangs front grill and bumper, and past frayed wiring and tubing she couldn't begin to describe, an angry red glow lit up her face like a fiery beacon. Her stomach clenched painfully as the memory of her strange 'dream' surfaced _very_ clearly.

Anna withdrew with a jolt, remembering how the sparking, fiery orb in her dream had reached out and grabbed aholt of her very being with a horrible ripping pain like a creature clawing through her insides in a mad attempt to destroy, or escape, like when Kaden became frightened and ran her over with scraping claws without realizing what he's doing.

Then she could hear it, the Decepticon's systems pushing with painfully slow clicks and the sound of something close to a computer rebooting wheezed more and more rapidly. After waiting painfully for a few minutes with baited breath its quad-optics flared to life in a bright burning scarlet.

Anna felt her chest well with anger, fear and anxiety the moment an angry war cry ripped through the air in a voice that sounded like two coarse boulders grinding together. _Make that two metal boulders grinding together_, she vaguely added through gritted teeth. Metal clashed against metal and an aching strain from the chains groaned through the room when he tried to pull free of the thick restraints.

Anna stumbled back, fearing he would break escape but neither of the Autobot's seemed to share her phobia. Instead they waited for the Decepticon to quickly fall back with a rapid rush of its intakes in a strained hitch, a sound akin to panting before another viscously horse roar ripped from its vocals and trailed off into pained grunts and snarls.

"Feeling like slag are we?" The cobalt Autobot leered icily.

Why-Don't you just- Kill me already?" The Decepticon's painful gasps did nothing to lessen the viciousness of his voice but since it was obvious he wasn't going anywhere with the extensive damage littering its shell.

"Jolt. Back off," Ratchet barked sharply. The newly named mech revved its internal systems but took a step back without another word.

Anna leaned a little further over to regain full view of the monstrosity below and instantly regretted doing so.

"You!" he snarled so sharply that she flinched onto locked joints and the full ferocity of his optics landed on her like, burning with a pressing force she could actually _feel_.

"What?" she snapped back before her mind could catch up with eye widening horror at what she had done. But it was too late and the angry word had ripped from her vocals of their own accord. She rocked back over the metal table but it was impossible to pry her brown eyes way from peering down at the snarling Decepticon. _I'm so dead._

The wires littering his chest that were either cauterized or clamped shut except a few that were now bleeding a pinkish liquid, a few droplets trickled down from the reopened wound and dripped into the furiously jumping spark. The drops fizzled and seem to evaporate. Anna clutched her chest as a sudden pain ripped through her.

"I'm going to kill each and every one of you slagging humans!" he roared ferociously.

The Decepticon, she remembered his name now, Barricade, struggled against the chains like a mad dog trying to reach an intruder with frothing, snarling fangs that wanted nothing more than to sink its teeth into her flesh and rip her fragile body to shreds. The image didn't fall too short of the literal sense of what the massive transformer would likely do to her if it were to ever break free.

Ratchet moved closer to the table, his large servo's visibly twitching at the side of her most recent sleeping space but he didn't make any moves on the Decepticon.

"Can't we just slag it?" Jolt asked with acid in his voice.

Ratchet made a deep _'hmph'_ that vibrated through his chest and through the table, travelling across Anna's fingertips in a soft rattle.

The massive doors to the room hissed open like something out of Star Wars and Anna half expected Darth Vader to come stalking into the room as it fell silent save for the incessant machines. But it wasn't the dark Jedi, instead Prowl stared into the room with a concentrated scowl set back into his facial plates. He glared icy blue daggers at the Decepticon lying chained to the floor, flickered his gaze past Anna, and rested his optics on Ratchet. Barricade audibly growled, a deep resonating sound that Anna could feel vibrating through the metal table and made her wild heart flutter. She really wanted off the damn thing that was picking up every vocalization and amplifying it until she could _feel_ the tension and aggression in each tone, as if the atmosphere wasn't thick enough.

"They are both online." The second in command clipped in a monotone a statement. Anna would have thought he were bored with the whole situation except she only had to look at his hard set face to see otherwise.

"Yes, one right after the other," Ratchet affirmed on a sour note.

"What's going on?" Anna asked sharply.

Both Ratchet and Prowl stared her down which made Anna feel only smaller.

"Well?" her voice cracked.

"Are you feeling…different at all?" Ratchet uncertain question had Anna back pedaling for a moment. Different? She considered him seriously but could honestly feel nothing wrong, even her leg that had been shot by a bullet the size of a BB gun no longer stung like it had been.

"Nothing other than the irritation of being stared at and not told why I'm sitting on a dissection table over a Decepticon that wants to kill me." Her voice trickled out in a snarl that was finished by Barricade in a snappish sound that echoed in the small room.

"It appears," Ratchet glanced at Prowl who nodded at the medic which only made the hairs on the back of her neck rise, "That your emotions are connected with the Decepticon."

"What?" she and Barricade snapped at the same time which caused her to stare down at him sharply and him glare up at her. All three of the Autobots were watching them with calculated optics.

"My theory, which is by no means one hundred percent accurate, is that the shard has somehow split its energies between the two of you. It only manifested from a small portion of the Allspark itself but the power it held was still immense."

Barricade snarled, "What proof do you have Autobot?"

Ratchet glanced at the Decepticon with a scowl but to Anna's surprise he answered him.

"More than I care to acknowledge. I summarize it happened around the time you arrive when you attempted to terminate the human. That flash of light that knocked the both of you offline was the transfer of energy and it's been manifesting itself ever since."

"That still doesn't answer the question," Barricade made sure to point out.

"The human female has a reported three cases of discharged Allspark energies and the cause of your system malfunctions are hypothesized to be linked." Prowl told him matter-of-factly.

Anna noticed that he failed to say what 'kind' of discharges she had, including the time she brought her kitchen appliance to life. _My poor toaster._

"I don't know what the long term effects will be but at this point it seems you seem to be a part of a battery system that needs to be 'recharged' so to speak by direct contact. Both of you were unconscious but you probably noticed the lack in your systems, fatigue, or glitches that grew over a period of time. The shard was already separated from the rest of the Allspark diminishing it's abilities but now that it's been stretched even more and appears to have adapted a dependency to compensate," Ratchet explained.

Anna thought about that and tried linking the last few months together. Yeah she had times where she felt tired and more irritable than usual but that could have been from anything considering what she had to deal with. But there was that one time when Barricade touched her in the brig. It was around the time of her stomach virus that she still felt embarrassed to think about. All that drama over nothing but a common bug…the day after her stomach had hurt like hell but when Barricade touched her she felt a weird static sensation and after that, nothing, nothing at all. All of her aches and pains were gone. Anna found herself trembling at the thought, we're they really connected and all this time she had been feeling his emotions? She shouldn't be making up excuses for her horrible behavior but it could explain why she had been so snappish and such a jerk besides teenage hormones with a drastic life change in the mix...

"Your frame's have been turned into a positive and minus system where the energies can detect each other, attract, and connect by physical touch to cause a movement of energy to replenish itself. You were both short circuiting because its power had not been charged for some time from lack of contact causing it to back up and turn on its host like a human with an immune deficiency."

Anna's jaw dropped open and she felt her mind grinding to a halt and if Ratchet's hypothesis were correct then Barricade was feeling equally as stunned until quite clearly, a flood of anger that wasn't her own burst out with an enraged, "Are you fragging kidding me!" Barricade roared, "You're telling me that if I don't _'touch'_ this organic then my circuits will fry?" he spat with disgust.

"Shut up Decepticon and don't move if you don't want to kill yourself. It took more effort than I'm willing to make again to stabilize your spark."

Barricade growled at Jolt and the Autobot sent him a sneer in return.

"Do not antagonize him. I want the human female and Decepticon separated ASAP and when she is stable enough Annabelle Swift is to report to directly Optimus Prime. Under no circumstances should the human be left without an escort," Prowl ordered.

Anna crossed her arms and scoffed, "You know, if you have something to say why don't you talk to me directly instead of acting as if I not in the room?"

Prowl gave her a stern look but he wasn't the one to answer her question. "Because you are the Autoscum's insignificant play thing," Barricade's rattling laugh was cut short by a painful series of mechanical coughs.

Anna cringed at the horrible sound of his grating vocals and remembered the last time she got sick then imagined amplifying it, she almost felt sorry for the Decepticon. It kind of surprised her that what he said didn't affect her very much, she almost felt like it were true, almost utterly believed him, but that could be the emotional link again. God it was going to take a while to figure out which emotions were whose.

"Enough! We will discuss further action after _you,_ Annabelle Swift, have talked with Optimus." Prowl hissed.

Anna glanced down at Barricade and watched the Decepticon glare up at the strategist with a smug look set about his facial plates.

Ratchet forced her to stay in the room but at least obliged to fill her and Barricade in on what happened during their 'offlined' time, though every word he and the other Autobots had said so far seemed guarded. Apparently Barricade was found in this undeveloped building by higher ranking officers with no one else around while it was apparent someone had obviously gone to the liberty of tying him down crudely drilling a hole through his chest, rupturing his pump and several vital components that Ratchet listed off with mechanical medical jargon that Anna couldn't hope to understand in her life time. Apparently all of the medical equipment had to be rushed in the room since moving him would automatically result in termination, something that wouldn't normally bother them as Jolt pointed out, but before Anna had arrived Ratchet speculated their link and was afraid his termination would result in her death as well.

Barricade was eerily silent through the explanation but Anna could tell he was furious about…something but it didn't seem to be whole heartedly directed toward the Autobots present, though it was hard to tell since the difference between their emotions was still murky but Anna sternly told herself she wasn't angry at the Autobots…more so weary.

After what felt like hours to Anna, she didn't have a watch and never bothered to ask anyone what time it was, Ratchet finally said she was stable enough to be moved to her new quarters.

_Thank God, _she thought.

Jolt slapped his data pad down on top of a beeping machine. "If you weren't so bit brained maybe you wouldn't have ended up in this mess in the first place. All of you Decepticons are nothing short of a glitched processor."

"If moving wouldn't kill me you would be a sparkles shell right now," Barricade bit back.

"Ohhh, I'm so frightened by the glitched 'Con that would deactivate if I only pulled one little plug. I might forget to tighten a hose on my way out."

If Anna had to listen to those two for another five minutes she was going to scream. At first they had a few good comebacks and they were the most amusing things in the room, it was weird but she could have sworn Barricade was liking it too after the first ten minutes of being angered by them but by now even he was growing irritated and the insults were just stupid.

Ratchet's patience hit the ceiling long before Anna's though and he was spouting off like wrecking bowl with a wrench he carelessly hurdled at Jolt now and then. She was surprised by the violence he showed being a medic and all, especially after he left a basketball size dent in Jolt's cranial but the thickheaded, literally and figuratively, Autobot kept right on going with the insults.

"The two of you will cease your bickering this instant unless you want me to permanently dismantle your vocal processor!" The CMO held up his wrench threateningly and Anna dived for the other side of the table seeing as she was in the line of fire. If that thing hit her she would be dead. The sizable dent in the wall erased any question of that theory.

"JOLT!"

The blue Autobot snapped to attention with a sharp salute that clanged when his hand met his head and winced when he bumped the dent in his head.

"You are to stay here to observe the Decepticon. Stop fighting with him and let the fragger rest already. You're about to fry MY circuits!"

"Sir!"

The medical officer grumbled as he laid a palm flat on the metal table. Anna stared at the hand like it would burn her receiving an irritated click from the medic towering over her.

"Don't make me carry you like a sparkling. Get going."

Anna sent him a dissatisfied scowl but carefully climbed into his palm and situated herself in his curling grip that didn't give her a chance to hang on properly before lifting her into the air with a nauseating wash of vertigo. She clung to his large fingers that were as round as she was and stared down at the floor far below.

He walked with her in his out stretched palm out of the empty building that was still clearly under construction and uncomfortably trekked across the tarmac. There were soldiers busy moving supplies and performing drills but as always they nearly stopped everything when an Autobot went by and Anna received the most stares. Uncomfortably she would sink lower in his steady hand in an attempt to hide her face. Ratchet gave her a strange look but it was hard to tell what kind because he always had a scowl on his face.

Who the hell was she fooling? Everyone knew who she was, not once had she seen anyone else being man handled by the Autobots but herself and that fact irked her and brought up Barricade's sarcastic or not theory of her being a play thing or pet. She sure felt like one lately. Next they were going to start telling her to go outside to use the bathroom…Kaden!

She nearly jumped to her feet but caught herself in a jerk that made Ratchet stop just as suddenly and bring his other hand up just as quickly as if she might just roll off.

"Are you malfunctioning?" He sounded genially worried which sent Anna for another loop, not once had she heard the CMO sound sincere in anything but his death threats. When she didn't answer right away she felt an odd tingling sensation run through her body which made her shiver.

"Where does it hurt?" he demanded.

"Where's Kaden?" she blurted wearily. Tension built in her chest at the thought of her dog, if they did anything to him…

Ratchet furrowed his optic ridge in confusion. "Who is Kaden?"

"My Doberman. He was on the plane with me and…that Jackass! Where the hell is John? I'm gonna rip him a new one!"

Anna felt her skin rise in temperature and was startled when a cackle of blue electricity shot through her left hand and onto Ratchet's palm making him wince but thankfully he didn't drop her. She stared at the black scorch mark and sobered up as quickly as she had gotten angry.

"I'm sorry. I don't know how I did that," she told him with embarrassed sincerity.

"If there is one thing of many I would point out about you humans it's that you don't know how to use control."

Anna crossed her arms and hugged them at her sides.

"You canine was identified and placed where your new quarters will be but who is this John you feel so hostile against?"

Anna sucked in a deep breath to keep from having another outburst and could feel Barricade stirring questionably. It was so odd and almost impossible to describe the muddy presence of the Decepticon she could almost physically feel.

"He's my mom's husband."

Ratchet only seemed more confused. "You do not have a creator with the designation John."

So they had a full bio of her life, just peachy, do they have the first day she ate solid food cataloged and exactly what kind it was? Probably.

"No. He's a stupid guy my mom remarried. You do know what getting divorced and remarried means?"

"I have heard of it but the concept is absurd. I don't see how that connection is relevant to the current situation."

Anna couldn't believe he didn't know about John, perhaps the Autobots weren't as omniscient as they made themselves out to be. Either that or NEST simply didn't put the man's name down on anything digital and hid his presence which seemed strange to her. For once it seemed she would be enlightening the thirty foot being instead of the other way around. I know something you don't know. Hah! She almost felt ashamed for the childish smugness she felt but lately there had been nothing under her control or even solely her own knowledge for the past month or more. Only one nasty surprise after another, every day was a new peek into Pandora's Box.

"Oh, he's very relevant. He's the scrawny guy they had tied up on the plane who kept hitting Kaden's kennel, yelled at my mom, and tried to strangle me to death."

Anna felt and heard Ratchet's engine rev angrily and she wondered how that got him riled up.

"That is the reason you have internal bleeding around your neck?" he asked angrily.

Anna's thoughts went directly to her sore throat and she couldn't help but gingerly touch it, there must have been black marks around that area, not something she was looking forward to seeing in the mirror.

"Y-yes." She wondered why the knowledge had ruffled him up so much.

He didn't enlighten her as to why it angered him and continued his trek to wherever she was supposed to be staying which to her horror was apparently in his medical bay. The automatic door opened to grand them entry and he deposited Anna on the modified shelf. Apparently they wanted to keep a very close eye on her. She did not revel in the fact that she would be spending the majority of her time in the CMO's midst.

"Kaden!"

Her Doberman which was still being held captive in a portable kennel barked happily and wagged his stumpy rump in greeting. She was aware of Ratchet watching her but she tried her best to ignore him and opened the front door of the cage. Her dog wriggled out and licked her face with his large wet tongue. She laughed with delight and stroked her hand over his smooth black coat.

"The Canine almost amputated a servo of one of the humans when they tried to pet it. Odd how it seems so docile around you."

Anna looped an arm around the muscular dog's neck and looked up at the watchful CMO and smiled. "He's a guard dog. Their trained from a young age to only recognize one person and protect its territory from everyone else. Dad gave him to me as a present when he divorced my mom and was constantly being deployed overseas."

"So this creature has been your guardian in your creator's place?"

Anna nodded and her expression soured. "But apparently I already had one."

"You are speaking of Wheeljack?" he didn't look surprised so Anna assumed he knew everything already. She nodded again.

"Yeah. It was nice to find out the guy who practically raised me was an alien," she said bitterly.

"We didn't know Wheeljack was already on Earth and apparently his communications were severely damaged…I never thought that mech would be capable of taking care of a youngling but it appears you inherited your personality elsewhere which is probably a blessing in disguise," Ratchet offered.

Anna sat down on the twin bed that squeaked under her weight and pulled off her boots. She sighed and wriggled her toes in the relief. "Well it felt more like I was babysitting him because he was always blowing something up in the house. Where is he anyway?"

Ratchet made a sound that sounded like he was clearing his throat. "Wheeljack was supposed to be reporting to Optimus but apparently he has a glitch in his processor that keeps leading him to my doorstep. Prowl had to lock him in the brig so you could rest."

"_Oh hell", _Anna thought. When Uncle Jack gets mad there's usually not much that can stop him. The last time He went on a tirade was when she was in her sophomore year of High School. A girl she had considered her friend for two years drove them on a 'shopping' trip only to leave Anna stranded in the woods without a cell phone. While trying to find her way back she wound up with scrapes and bruises, a nasty gash that was still a bit noticeable in a faded scar marked her arm as a reminder of those horrible five hours in the woods.

Uncle Jack was the one who found her. At the time she thought it was impossible for a human to find a person wondering in the middle of the woods but now that she knew he wasn't of this world many things in her life revolving around him suddenly made sense.

"When can I see him?"

"After you talk with Optimus and you've rested a little longer. The Allspark energy seems to be stable for the moment but I need to observe its effects a little longer to be sure."

Anna sighed and fell back against the stiff bed which squeaked with protest. Her back was really going to hate her after a couple days.

* * *

**I** **hate these kind of chapters and below I'll leave an unflowered, clear cut explanation of what Ratchet was trying to say to clear up any confusion.**

**In short, the fragment which only contained a portion of the Allspark's power split its energies between Barricade and Anna. They can feel each other's emotions, feel each other's presence because the energy is attracted it it's other half, and they need to touch every now and then to refresh the flow of energy or it becomes stagnant and old like corrupted energon and starts killing their systems in search of an out lit and source of energy to keep it alive because the Allspark needs a lot of power to keep running. There's much more to come but for now this is what their link boils down to.**


	24. Chapter 24

**A huge thanks to all of my reviewers!**

**It appears Shockwave has been picked for T3's new villain. He's the only Decepticon I don't like XD. He makes a good villain.  
**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own transformers

* * *

There was only so long she could lie on the creaky old bed and stare at the ceiling that was still well over her head despite being at least ten feet off the ground. Sleeping wasn't an option since the energy surge or whatever Ratchet had called it left her wide awake and her IPod had stopped working some time before she even got there. For the fifteenth time she pulled the broken music player out of her pocket and fiddled with the rubber casing around it. She tried half heartedly to come up with a new plot line to some fantasy story that had to do with fire happy witches and shape shifters but her mind was too busy to keep focused on it. Kaden wasn't much amusement either as he laid lazily on the floor in a peaceful slumber with his front paws crossed and his large head resting on them.

With nothing but boredom numbing her mind she was beginning to feel a distinct difference between Barricade's emotions and her own. His were continually wound up in a tight ball like a tense, angry animal that flared more to the angry side every now and then. It was like the Decepticon was mad at the world like some PMSing teenager but considering the shape she last saw him in, cutting the mech a little slack didn't feel like stretching too far. He had a gaping hole drilled through his chest after all and his innards were out for the world to see. Anna shivered at the thought and hoped they at least put a plate or whatever the equivalent of a Cybertronian band aid or skin graph would be to cover it up. Recently though, in the last few hours she felt his presence draw away and decided he must be asleep or in statis.

She laid there for a little longer listening to Ratchet's endless quick fingers clicking on a massive keyboard with a large question itching at the back of her mind. How had her dad gotten aholt of a piece of the Allspark and did Wheeljack give it to him? If so, why? She would have gone down a spiral of what if's except an uncomfortable pressure in her lower abdomen was becoming almost unbearable. With a sigh she sat up with the bed creaking in protest.

"Um, Ratchet?"

The CMO stopped his typing and swiveled around in his massive chair to stare her down. An immediate tingling sensation shot through her body like an arm going numb but all over and she resisted the urge to stand up and shake like a dog. She couldn't understand why nearly every time he looked at her that happened. She might ask about it later.

"Is there something malfunctioning?"

Anna felt herself go red in the face. _Just say it you idiot._ "Well kind of."

He stood immediately and the tingling sensation increased making her shift in her seat until she had to stand up too. He walked over to her shelf in three big steps which alerted Kaden to lift his head and perk his ears in interest, a soft growl of warning rippled in his throat at the Autobot.

"What irregularities are you feeling? Your blood pressure and heart rate have quickened."

_No crud you're about thirty feet taller than me and you move faster than should be normal,_ she thought sarcastically.

"I need to use the restroom."

He stared at her blankly for a moment before realization flashed over his optics. If he had to look up what the meaning of the word was she was going to slap him. Then again he never built a toilet on his little human 'pet' shelf. God she was beginning to feel like some caged gerbil, but she was not going to start using the floor as a toilet, eww.

"You need to dispose of your waste."

Anna snorted, "Thank you captain obvious. Can we go now please? I'm gonna blow."

He quirked an optic ridge at her. "There is no possible way you are 'gonna blow' and I am no captain of the obvious, I merely stated a fact."

So any humor was going to be lost on this walking car. "Can we just go?" she growled. The irritance was her own but she drew on a bit of Barricade's anger without meaning to.

"Don't get snappish with me young lady. I haven't laid down the rules properly for you yet but since you are in _my _med 'bay you _will_ follow my rules and be respectful."

Anna withheld a bitter laugh and breathed through her nose in silence. Be respectful to the ones keeping her captive, yeah, if only to save her own skin, right?

"Understand?" he said a bit more forcefully.

Oh, he wanted an answer. "Sure. Can we go _now_?"

He still didn't seem pleased but brought his hand to rest palm up on the metal shelf with a soft clang as he made contact. This time Anna didn't hesitate to climb into his warm palm and was quick to grab onto a finger this time before he swiftly began moving. This mech didn't know the meaning of patience…then again he had a Doberman lunging for his invading hand.

He walked down the massive hallways which Anna noticed were generally vacant of humans, in fact the whole building seemed to be left to the mechs including their sleeping quarters if she remembered correctly. Obviously there wasn't a bathroom in the vicinity so he had to trek outside. She was really getting tired of being stared at and this time instead of hiding she glared at the people looking up. Some turned their heads away while a few glared right back until Ratchet's gate moved her out of sight. Anna admitted she was feeling a bit cranky but thought she was justified at the moment for many reasons other than she wasn't liking being held so high off the ground with little support but the smooth metal of the CMO's hands that radiated an odd warmth which intensified the ninety degree or so summer weather.

They made it to the barracks in record time. Anna wondered why the transformers kept thinking it was the only place with a toilet but she wasn't complaining.

"Come back out as soon as you're finished. Don't dawdle."

Anna bit back a '_yes mother' _and simply nodded before slipping off his hand like a slide and rushing into the building. Her memory was perfect and she made a B-line for the bathroom in the girl's hallway. She felt relief as she washed her hands off in the sink. Now if only she could get a change of clothes and take a shower. She had probably been in her outfit for at least twenty four hours and she was starting to feel it in her greasing hair but she had no idea who to ask for supplies. Maybe that grumpy doctor, Johnson was his name, could help her out there. He was the last person she wanted to see though, the Autobot medical officer and Johnson should be best friends their dispositions were so similar. Then again two people who were almost identical repel each other like oil and water.

After washing her face with the hand soap and scrubbing as much of herself as was modest in case anyone walked in, she left the wash racks. Anna was about to touch the front door but stopped just she was reaching out for the knob. Retracing her steps she went back through the hallway and confidently opened the door to the back lounge. The room was more pristine than it had been before the skirmish she remembered all too well but disappointment filled her when the faux Mountain Dew Machine was nowhere in sight.

She wasn't sure what she was going to do if it were still there but it was probably down in the brig still…the brig, Wheeljack. Anna went back outside and found Ratchet waiting for her impatiently in the same place she left him but this time Ironhide was with him and they were both talking softly to each other in Cybertronian that reached her ears in a high pitch series of mechanical tones. They ceased when the door slammed shut behind her and both of them turned to stare with the full bore intensity of their blue optics giving Anna the uncomfortable feeling she just walked in on a conversation about herself.

"I see you are…functioning well." Ironhide fumbled awkwardly. Yep, they had definitely been talking about her.

"Yeah, it seems like I have a defective battery problem or something according to Ratchet. Oh, well as long as I'm not frothing at the mouth or growing an extra limb I guess it's ok."

The weapon-toting mech's jaw fell open but Ratchet beat him to it with a grouchy reply, "You were never in any danger of 'frothing at the mouth or growing an extra limb'," he dead panned.

Anna made a 'tsk' sound with her tongue, "I'll believe that after I get through the year intact." The CMO didn't seem to have a verbal comment to that and remained silent but not without his seemingly infamous scowl.

"Can I see Wheeljack?"

Ironhide sputtered in a short almost grumpy sort of dry humored laugh and said, "Might as well before the fragger fries his circuits."

He bent down on one knee and offered his palm which Anna not so gracefully climbed into. He lifted her uncomfortably twenty or more feet in the air and instead of carrying his hand out in front of him as was characteristic whenever the transformers transported her; he brought her close to his chest and cupped her between his massive digits and the black plating of his chassis. Anna was startled at first from his tipping hand and spread her arms out like a gecko grasping for anything she could get aholt of but was unable to go anywhere with the solid wall to her back and massive fingers to her front. The plating was oddly warm, much warmer than any other part of the transformers she had felt and leaning against it she could almost feel a pulse like a heart beat coursing under it.

"I'll bring er' back in a bit," Ironhide told Ratchet.

The latter nodded. "Just make sure neither of you come back more damaged than you are now or I'm welding your aft to a table and the femme will be put on permanent bed rest."

Ironhide snorted but didn't say anymore as he headed off down the tarmac.

Her new position was odd and she usually didn't like being carried around so high off the ground but Anna found it surprisingly comfortable. Between the steady pulse of what she could only guess to be his heart, their spark as Sideswipe once put it, and the sway his gate created she found herself being lulled close to sleep. She was a bit more hidden in her position from the outside world below and felt comfortable enough without the following gazes of soldiers to close her eyes and give into the comfort. The closer she came to sleep the further her body sagged against the plating until she was comfortably limp.

"Perhaps you are still too drained for this," Ironhide said suddenly.

Anna sat up quickly and immediately felt the heat rush to her face. "No I'm fine, really."

She felt and heard a low rumble pass through his body but the weapons specialist said nothing in return. They reached the building that went down into the transformer cells and Anna couldn't help but feel a sense of déjà when Ironhide stepped on the massive elevator that made up the entire floor, the lift sank and groaned a little under his massive weight but it showed no sign of bottoming out. Anna looked down on the office that was jutting out from the wall and saw an older woman leaning in her chair reading a book.

"Lower it already," Ironhide barked, voice vibrating through his chest where Anna could feel every stressed syllable.

The woman inside scrambled up from her seat and almost fell over trying to get to the control panels. She hit the button and stared warily at the giant black mech as the lift lowered him downwards and when her eyes met Anna's there was apparent puzzlement in her eyes. The elevator lowered down how many floors Anna didn't know but it finally stopped. The mesh door covering parted allowing Ironhide access into the room lined with cell blocks, only one of them at the end was alive with pink energy bars.

Behind them was a very large form that was still foreign to Anna, Uncle Jack-Wheeljack's true form. He was _huge _and almost blindingly white except his paintjob could have probably used a good scrub. Sitting hunched over on a metal berth in the cell with his head hung it didn't seem like their approach was noticed. Anna watched the somber look on his massive face, it was mostly covered with a mask of some sort up to his azure optics but even in his robotic form she could be almost certain that his mouth would be turned downward in a concentrated scowl. Anna tapped on Ironhide's chest to get his attention and gestured silently for the mech to put her down. He seemed confused at first but quickly complied when he under stood. Anna stepped down off the black mech's hand and onto the concrete floor then purposely cleared her throat.

"Uncle Jack I'm going to kill you!"

The white transformer jumped up so suddenly that he banged his head into the ceiling causing him to curse in his native tongue and double over with a hand over his bruised cranial but the moment he laid optics on her all thoughts of pain fled his processors and concern flashed across his optics.

"Annabelle? Are you ok?"

He crouched quickly to the cell's edge with his optics brightening significantly but was still careful to avoid touching the bars that would send him into status at the slightest graze. Anna crossed her arms and tapped her foot. "No," His optics flashed in horror until she continued, "I'm a hologram that never bothered to mention that I am in fact an ALIEN FROM ANOTHER PLANET!"

Ironhide's hands flew to his audio receivers to turn them down with a grimace but Wheeljack was too stunned to move and suffered the cracking hiss in his audios. His 'fins' fell with his down turning face and the massive white Autobot looked dejected like well, like a kicked puppy.

"I never meant to lie to you. I was only honoring Michieal's request. If I could have, I would have told you about my true self in a spark beat."

"We'll he's not here right now so I think that's kind of void at the moment."

There was a short pause before his optics faltered to the floor and his voice dropped. "I failed both of you…I'm sorry."

Anna breathed in a deep breath and released it as a heavy sigh. "It wasn't your fault."

His head shot up and his Optics bore into her eyes with a powerful intensity. "I was his guardian as I am yours. I _swore_ to protect your family and I failed. First Cindy left and I was forced to decide between staying with her or with Michieal and you then I lose Michieal completely and nearly you as well!" He pounded a heavy fist into the ground and the concrete cracked under his rising frustration. "I should have been there when the Decepticons attacked, I should have been aware they had made planet fall nearly two earth years ago!"

Anna frowned but allowed him to vent without interruption, even ignoring Ironhide as he stepped away from her back and somewhere off to her front peripheral vision. He was upset, deeply upset over the loss of her dad, maybe even more so than herself. She wondered just how long and what her dad and Uncle Jack had done together

"Buck up soldier."

Wheeljack twisted his head around to Ironhide who was standing beside the wall next to his cell. The white inventor revved his engine.

"Losing your charge isn't easy but how many others have you lost to the war? We can't do anything for the dead but hold them close to our sparks in memory. You can't lose sight of the here and now that is just as important. Look in front of you."

Wheeljack did and his gaze fell on Anna who shifted her eyes to the white Autobot as well. "Annabelle is still alive. She is still your charge and she needs you _now,_ so buck up pal."

Anna felt Ironhide had fallen completely out of character but Wheeljack knew better for these were strong words coming from experience. The weapon specialist started out as a body guard in the war, taking on several charges over the vorns. The relationship between guardian and charge was always a strong bond that only strengthened over time; most mech's described it as a closest comparison to that of a creator and youngling or a brotherly bond depending on the pair. The weapon-toting mech had lost charges during the war and many brothers in arms; each death was as painful as the last.

"You're right," Wheeljack said in a subdued tone without averting his eyes from Anna who was beginning to feel strange under his gaze.

Ironhide activated a panel in the wall which slid out at his command and typed in a code which caused the pink energy bars to disappear. Wheeljack leaned forward and scooped the young woman up in his hands and Anna didn't protest. He brought her close to his chest much like Ironhide had and cradled her close to his spark chamber with both hands. He was staring intensely down at her causing her to feel uncomfortable so Anna pressed her face against the foreign chest to avoid the bright optics and felt the pulse of his spark underneath the white armor.

It was familiar like all the times she fell asleep across Uncle Jack's chest as a little girl while watching TV with him on the couch or leaning against him to listen to him read a bed time story. He might have been a robot at the time but even now she could clearly recognize the familiar beat of his spark. This really was the Uncle Jack she knew.

Somehow she fell asleep. She wasn't sure when but at some point Ironhide disappeared from the room leaving her to lie comfortably against Wheeljack's chest as he sat on the floor with his back leaning against the wall. Apparently Barricade was still out of it because there still wasn't so much as a wisp of anger coming from him. Anna looked up at Wheeljack who appeared to be lost in his thoughts, staring off across the room, but upon sensing her awake his massive head turn downwards to gaze at her. A smile tugged the edges of his optics up and his fins flashed in greeting.

"Good morning."

Anna groaned and snuggled her face back into his chest. Wheeljack chuckled, a warm sound that vibrated through him and a jarring movement let Anna know he was standing up.

"Time to wake up sleepy head. Your levels indicate your fuel tank is low."

Anna picked her ruffled head up again to look at him. "Now I know where you get all your weird phrases from. I thought dad and I broke you of those habits?"

"You can take the 'bot off Cybertron but you can't take Cybertron out of the bot."

"Fair enough," she said through a stifled yawn.

Apparently he was allowed to leave the brig because the bars were never put back into place allowing him to stride toward the elevator that was already at the bottom and waiting. He stepped onto the boxy platform and Anna caught a glimpse of the green form of Dewbot sitting idly in his alternative form in the same place she last saw his panicked retreat just before the mesh doors collapsed together and the elevator lifted up. She wondered if any of the Autobots knew about him wondering around the base; probably not.

"I have orders to bring both of us before Optimus Prime. Are you up for it because I mean if-"

Anna waved him off with a hand that had been previously trying to tame her ruffled hair.

"I'm not just going to keel over like a gold fish. Let's see him and get it over with."

Wheeljack received more stares from the soldiers than even Anna usually did which probably contributed to the fact hardly anyone had seen him yet. They made it to a large hanger and Wheeljack dived around zooming vehicles and briskly walking officials who sneered at his passing even when he moved out of their way. Her dad always joked that he would love to give the higher-ups new suits that weren't so tight so maybe they would be less mean. The thought would have put a smile on her lips but a sudden jerking sensation in her chest like an almost blinding explosion of something that could only be explained as a sudden awareness brought her eyes forwards with a start. At the same instant she saw the Autobot leader whip his head around uncharacteristically fast, cutting off mid sentence with which ever human he was conversing with on the cat walk, and their eyes and optics met.

Anna shrank back into Wheeljack's hands and the inventor looked down at her with concern. "It's ok. He won't hurt you," he comforted.

It wasn't so much the thought of the massive semi turned transformer that frightened her it was the fact that she could 'feel' his presence not much unlike the way she noticed Barricade. The difference was obvious, this wasn't like the make shift bond made between a single energy trying to survive, something inside her _knew_ Optimus Prime was standing there on a deeper level than simply seeing him, an awareness of pulsing energy coursed through her and she could almost see the glow she knew was pulsing around his form as well. She felt compelled to step closer to the impossibly tall alien and run away as fast as possible all at the same time.

The great leader seemed conflicted as well when he took a step forwards but stopped just as suddenly before regaining control of himself and standing up straighter.

"Let us take our discussion into my office," he said smoothly.

He turned to the human he had been talking to and apologized rigorously to the unhappy higher up before excusing himself. He gestured for Wheeljack to follow and he did so obediently. They entered the largest hanger that was for Autobots only and Optimus led them into a room that could have only been described as his office. A massive metal table took up the room and data pads were stuffed into a neat pile off to the side while several more were scattered around. On his desk was a human sized chair and a set of stairs were built into the side of the metal frame to allow for easy access. Wheeljack set her down on the tabletop and neither he nor Optimus took a seat so she remained standing as well.

They remained silent for a while without either of them explaining what the wait was for making the sense of unease build in her chest. Optimus' burning gaze staring her down like the double barrel of a gun did nothing to help the feeling. She couldn't read what was going on behind his neutral expression and quite frankly he terrified her. The conflicting sense to go closer from curiosity was nearly completely over ridden with the desire to run.

Barricade was finally beginning to stir, she could tell by a sudden awareness that filled her and the pulling feeling she felt towards his direction became stronger. At least it let her know approximately where she was on the base at all times. It weakened when she walked away and it strengthened when she got closer. Between the feeling of the Decepticon swirling in the back of her mind with immediate irritation and Optimus towering over her it filled her with a rising panic. Anna tried her hardest to swallow the panic but there was no stopping the pounding in her chest that raced adrenaline to her limbs in coiled readiness.

Anna couldn't help but take a step back but that only brought her closer to Wheeljack who was watching her carefully. She glanced back and forth at the two transformers feeling trapped, cornered by and oppressed by their presence. They were trying to control her, she had something they wanted, after they got it they would kill her; she was sure of it.

"Is there something the matter Annabelle Swift? Your biological signs show abnormal levels. If you are still not well we can hold this meeting off for another time," Optimus said softly.

Before she could answer him the automatic door opened suddenly with a loud hiss of hydraulics and Anna lost all control. With a startled screech her pent up terror had her flying backwards in a leap she realized too late sent her over the edge of the table. From at least ten feet in the air she saw nothing but the gleaming ground below and there was nothing she could do. Her terror escalated with the felling of her stomach bottoming out and a loud chaos of bangs and shouts assaulted her ears. She saw a kaleidoscope of colors and the wind was knocked out of her as she landed against something hard and encompassing that restrained her movements. Barricade flared with anger at an intensity she hadn't felt before and it easily consumed her panic. The moment the world stopped spinning she struggled against her captor shrieking.

"Let me go! I won't let you use me! Y'all can't control my life! You've ruined it enough already! You can't have it! Whatever it is YOU CAN'T HAVE IT!"

It was impossible to escape the iron grip that crushed down on her so after draining her strength with her wild thrashing Anna gave in falling limp and sobbed. Rage was still leaking into her like a gushing hydrant from Barricade but she was too distraught to act on it. The giant hand holding her moved slowly upwards and pressed her to a solid wall of hot metal and gently, almost feather light, she could feel something tracing along her arched back that was hiding her face. Tremors vibrated through the plating as the owner emitted strange warbles and clicks that came out in a soft even tone that after a few minutes had an odd soothing effect.

"Do you think this is Barricades doing?" It was Ironhide's voice from close by.

The sounds stopped when Wheeljack asked sharply in alarm, "Barricade?"

"We would have to ask her. Annabelle we need to know if this has anything to do with Barricade's emotional influence or if there is another force behind this," Optimus asked urgently but in a controlled manor.

"I-I don't k-know," she choked, her words meaning more than just a simple answer to their question, "I don't know!" She cried letting out all the pent up frustration she felt towards her life lately and all the unanswered questions that had been stirring around in her mind like a haunting ghost. Feeding off the Decepticon's anger was easy but it made her unsure if she was angry at all herself.

The strange sounds returned, vibrating methodically from their source and shaking her body which was limp and plastered against it. No one spoke and the room was deathly quiet save for her weakening sobbing until the automatic door hissed open again and Ratchet came storming into the room with heavy footsteps.

"Give her to me."

Anna felt herself being passed over like an eggshell and deposited into another set of hands that felt distinctly different from Wheeljack's. Another hand hovered over her back as the transformer began to walk and Anna didn't know what was happening until the hand tipped to dump her easily onto the springy mattress that squeaked with protest and a shrill series of barks brought her slightly back to reality.

"Move, canine. I have no time for you!" Ratchet barked abruptly which miraculously caused Kaden to cease and back away.

She didn't care if it was childish or stupid but she grabbed the pillow and buried her face into it. Her sobs had quieted now to small trembles that shook her body and every now and then a hiccup escaped her lungs. Why did her life have to turn out like this? She should be getting ready for college, not battling her emotions over something like this. She didn't know if this was all Barricade's doing, the line between her emotions and his were becoming smeared like a blurry cloud of fog.

A tingling sensation erupted uncomfortably from somewhere deep in her chest and it spread throughout her body like a raging fire. Her tired limbs protested against the feeling but she was too exhausted to fight it and allowed the feeling to swallow her, closing her eyes it dragged her down into sleep.

* * *

**I'm starting to think there might be some pre 'Anthem of Deception' Anna/Wheeljack one shots in the future that include lots of fluff. Keep an eye out for a new set of 'stories' and I'll inform y'all when and if I begin posting them.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Transformers

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"You're sure you sure nothing else feels out of the ordinary?"

Anna passed another stroke over Kaden's head and trailed it down his back. She was sitting on the bed with her Doberman that was stretched out with its head in her lap. She breathed a deep breath and shook her head.

"Nothing is wrong with me that you can fix. You can't change a person's life so drastically and thrust everything at them without expecting them to crack. I had an episode but I'm over it now."

Ratchet watched her with disbelieving optics and frankly she didn't count on him to understand. She wanted to escape this place so badly. The next time she awoke the CMO was staring her down and apparently had been doing so since she passed out. Barricade was awake too and she felt him as soon as she was conscious. He held the usual mask of anger but now she felt so down in the dumps and numb to everything she felt a ripping pain from his end of the link that made her involuntarily flinch. Perhaps it was the injuries and he was doing the same thing she often did when afraid, covered everything with anger.

It was odd when she woke up, something ackin to an epiphany that flooded her in the wake of her emptied emotions. She felt calmer if nothing else but gloomy at the same time, the difference between Barricade's and her emotions was definite for the moment with his a dull throb at the back of her mind. Anna stopped stroking Kaden's sleek head when her stomach gave an unhappy growl and glanced up at the massive 'bot. Ratchet frowned and waited a moment before speaking, probably looking something up on the internet judging by the momentary vacant look in his optics.

"You require sustenance," he stated.

"I'm a little hungry," Anna affirmed.

"I will find you a human escort to help you refuel."

Anna scowled. "I'm not your gerbil and I'm sure as hell not your prisoner."

"When did I ever refer to you as a rodent or prisoner?"

"I mean," Anna began, hardly letting him finish, "That I don't need an escort to go to bathroom or to get some food. I won't self combust or fall through some black hole." _Or run away, _she added sarcastically.

He 'hmphed' sharply and crossed his arms. "Says the human who has been attacked on four different occasions."

There as a buzz that filled the room and Ratchet's optics shifted to the automatic door. "Your escort is here."

_That was fast_, Anna thought.

Ratchet moved towards the door and pressed his servos on the keypad which allowed the entry to the massive hallway. Standing far below them on the ground with a characteristic lopsided smile was Will Lennox.

"I hear someone's hungry."

Anna rolled her eyes and pushed Kaden aside who was resistant to move. Pulling on her boots she made her way down the human size stairs. Anna walked quickly past Ratchet's enormous feet and made it to Will who clasped a playful hand on her shoulder in greeting.

"H-ey! Well if it isn't Annabelle! You know, my daughter has the same name."

Anna gave a small smile, "I think you mentioned that once."

He looked confounded. "I did?"

"I think." Even she wasn't entirely sure but the day she was rescued and the day of the attack was turning into a blur amongst everything else. Things were just changing so rapidly she simply had no time to brood over one horrific event when so many were being thrown in her face the moment things seemed to have calmed down.

Will patted her shoulder and dropped his hand. "Well let's go get some grub. You're in luck my friend, we're having our annual BBQ cook off."

Anna followed him out but not before throwing a deep glare at the medic to get her displeasure across.

When people mention outdoor barbecues Anna usually thinks of big smokers and massive grills filled with mouth watering sausage, brisket, beer can chicken, and a variety of steaks with sides like potatoes, coleslaw, and beans. What she wasn't expecting was a military runway over run with personnel in sweats and casual clothing with blaring music and several small charcoal grills stuffed with hotdogs and hamburger patties.

The most noticeable thing in the area were the two smart car twins, _the mouse twins_, she mused. They were off to the side at what they probably thought was a safe enough distance and were break dancing to the blaring music with several soldiers cheering them on. She would be sure to steer clear of them.

Will gave her back a small swat bringing her attention to him. "I'm sure you know your way around this place by now. Go on and enjoy yourself and don't let anyone give you a hard time."

Anna looked at him dumbfounded and turned beat red when he winked at her and left before she could answer. She blinked away the shock realizing he was giving her a big break at the expense of probably being yelled at by the strict CMO. Anna couldn't help but smile and wondered why more people couldn't be like him, a human being with common sense who wasn't a complete jerk.

Her stomach growled again so she made a b-line for the closest grill by weaving through the loose crowd. By this time almost all of the soldiers recognized her face and none of them bothered or approached though several still gave her strange looks. Disgust? Horror? Fascination? A few of them stopped in their cheery conversations and whispered amongst themselves. Honestly she didn't want to know what was going on in their heads and it felt like elementary school all over again where she was the outcast that stuck out like a beacon no one wanted to be around because she was labeled weird.

High school hadn't been so bad and she had been gradually opening her shell but now she found herself clamping that shell shut again. Anna stared straight ahead of her with long strides, ignoring those around her and plugged in her ears with the non working headphones. Her face went stoic and her mind submerged itself in the fog that was her fantasy world, a fiction novel playing in her head with different characters with different lives and different problems. It was a distraction and a defense mechanism where she actively controlled everything that happened within it. There was no second guessing and no surprises, no deception.

"Hey! If it isn't Ol' 'Hide's pet!"

Anna glanced up at the Autobot Mirage who was smiling broadly down at her and glared. The mech flinched and held both of his hands up in defense.

"Hey hey. Come on now I'm only joking. Look I'm sorry for the misunderstanding…" She kept walking without saying a word.

Mirage dropped his hands and arched an optic ridge muttering, "How rude."

Anna made a hamburger from the table, grabbed a bag of chips, and took her plate away from the crowd. She found a quiet spot behind a building and made herself comfortable on a concrete slope that was meant for an eighteen wheeler to dock the building and unload its supplies. She placed the plate in her lap and took a bite of the food, relishing that she was alone without someone looking over her shoulder. Her emotional barrier was so familiar and practiced that it was easy to completely block Barricade out until she almost couldn't feel him at all making the feeling of being alone even more absolute.

She took a few more bites in relished aloneness when the sound of mechanical footsteps reached her ears. Anna decided to ignore them. They probably wouldn't go away but the hint would be loud and clear, alien or not, that she did not want to talk to them.

"Are you Annabelle Swift?" a young male in an obviously irritated tone snapped.

She placed her food down on the plate and whipped her fingers on a napkin slower than necessary. The mech obviously didn't have patience because he slammed a fist down by her causing Anna to jump but she didn't utter a sound.

"Are you Annabelle Swift?" he demanded again but much more sharply this time.

She looked up and nearly lost her composure at the sight of the bright yellow mech towering over her. She knew who this was, she couldn't remember his name but this was the mech who was Sideswipe's brother. His face was nearly exactly the same including his build and there was no forgetting that shoddy paint job. It seems he lived.

Anna met him with a glare to match his own slanted optics that were only a few feet away from her. "The damn if I am? Go away," she said darkly.

His systems produced a threatening rev and his face inched closer. "Do not talk to me that way _human._"

"I'll talk to you however way I want. Now didn't I tell you to get lost? Whatever it is '."

"We'll you're going to have to care and you better care very soon!" A growl erupted from his throat and he swatted a hand over her which she scrambled to rolled away from. The remaining bits of her hamburger flew from her lap and fell over the edge of the concrete splattering the ground with tomatoes and ketchup. His hand chased her like someone trying to catch a loose animal and eventually cornered her against a building. Anna threw her back against the wall and glared at the black hand looming towards her.

"Go jump off a cliff! Blow yourself up! I don't give a fuck what you want with me. Just go Die!" This anger was very much her own.

He stopped his approach and watched her with calculating optics, an angry scowl was set into his facial plates that deepened the longer they stared at each other. Finally, he lurched forwards. Anna closed her eyes and flinched, convinced he was going to kill her. The ground shook under a thunderous crash but no skull crushing pain laced her body as was expected. The Decepticon was able to break through her momentary lack of control, not that he was even trying in the first place, the connection just seemed to want to always 'be', and he was for lack of a better word, shocked. By the time her eyes opened again though, her barrier was back up.

The black and yellow hand was flat on the ground with spread fingers only inches from her body, the thumb curing around behind her to make the trap more confining without actually touching her.

"Now you listen here organic. I don't like you either and I would just as soon fry you with my lasers but you made a mess you have to fix first." He growled.

Anna looked at him in confusion, what mess had she made? Everyone else made a mess of _her_ life.

"Apparently my brother has been glitched in the processor ever since I arrived because of you. You're going to come with me and _fix_ him. After that I don't give a frag what happens to you."

"Sideswipe?" she asked surprised. "He definitely has a glitch," she finished sarcastically.

His engine revved loudly again with an angry growl rising in his throat.

"You are coming with me _now_, organic."

Before Anna had time to protest his hand flashed up, momentarily crushing her against the wall with a force that pushed all of the air out of her lungs in a painful gasp, before he lifted her in the air. The world spun and before she could comprehend what was happening through the blood rushing to her head she was tossed through the air and onto something hard and soft all at the same time. She was just beginning to get her bearings when a powerful engine roared to life under her and the vehicle she was in shot out from behind the building sending Anna flying into the back seat. She scrambled for purchase and every time she almost found it the car would veer causing her to fly the other direction.

"Slow down you fucking maniac!"

The car slammed on its breaks sending her forwards where Anna crashed into the dashboard, every small instrument that stuck out dug into her skin and she cracked her head against the steering wheel as the vehicle slid to a stop. She fell across the center consul and there was only a half second to catch her breath before the song of transformation reached her ears. The door turned into a hand that reached in and grabbed her and tossed her out onto the concrete before the mech initiated the program to completely transform.

Anna coughed trying to get air into her winded lungs and held her side painfully. In the panic Barricade broke through again and his anger was flaring with an intensity she could almost feel. A pair of footsteps clamored behind her hurriedly just as the yellow mech was finishing his transformation and a pair of black hands surrounded her on both sides but never touched her.

"Annabelle! Sunny what is wrong with you? You could have killed her!"

The yellow mech stared over her at the hands owners. "You said this human was the source of your malfunction. Now it's here to fix it." 'Sunny starred down at her with intense optics which she returned with a harsh glare. Anna was mad, Barricade wanted to be mad, this yellow mech was mad, so why didn't she just throw a big fucking angry fest.

"She's not an 'it' Sunny." The mech crouched over her sighed. "I'm sorry, he gets angry easily."

A discarding 'tch' came from the yellow 'bot but was fully ignored by his twin. The hands came away and Anna dared to turn around and glare up at the mech she knew was Sideswipe. He flinched and his features visibly fell to look…depressed? Sorry?

"What he means to say is, it's been eating up my processor since the last time I was with you. I was angry and I wanted to…apologize."

"I don't have it." She deadpanned.

"No, I know that!" he quickly tried to recover. "That's not what I mean-"

She cocked her head in wait. Whatever he was about to tell her was probably going to be just another lie.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you last time. I was just angry and it had been building up in my processor even before I landed. When I learned you had been in possession of a shard and didn't tell anyone I became angry because I thought if we got a hold of it sooner we might have been able to locate my brother with it...but he's here now and our bond is stable so I'm back to my old self."

Well, that was different from what she was expecting. Sideswipe was apologizing for the way he treated her and Anna suddenly felt bad for giving him such a hateful glare and snapping at him, she was doing the very thing she wanted to amend ever since getting home. It seemed also that by his last hesitated sentence that he was trying to subtly hint he wanted things to go back to the way they were, such a typical guy to not just come out and say what they mean. Anna sighed through her nose and looked off to the side. "I'm sorry I was I jerk to you too." She hated how forced the apology came out.

"Accepted," he said quickly.

Anna turned her head back and looked up at the kneeling 'bot who looked expectantly down at her. He was quick to accept her apology but she wasn't about to give it to him so readily. Honestly Anna was ready to take a mental step back and try to figure her current life out before becoming too close to the Autobots. He had been a good friend before and that was something Uncle Jack always told her to latch onto. Good friends were few and far between and you never knew when they could suddenly disappear. She figured isolating herself _would_ be dumb.

"Ok."

A smile stretched over his smooth facial plates and he scooped down to pick her up with a happy whoop. "I'm glad you're not holding a grudge against me. You're the only human I like on this planet.

"Um, thanks," she said once at eye level with the mech and couldn't help but crack a small smile in return of his large one.

"You make me sick. What is so good about that fleshbag?"

Sideswipe shot a glare over at his twin. "Don't call her names Sunny."

Anna felt a bit touched that he would defend her against his brother.

"Whatever. If you want a pet fine. But don't let it in my room where it can make a mess."

Anna fumed at the derogatory description, "Sunny is it?" she asked calmly.

"Don't call me that," he snapped.

"Why not?"

He crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his optics. "Because only my brother is allowed to use that name. Call me Sunstreaker or you'll find yourself a smear on the pavement."

"Aww, you mean you're not little miss sunshine? Because that's the impression I got."

"What did you call me?"

The yellow mech flicked his wrist where a gun popped out of seemingly nowhere and aimed it at Anna who was still sitting in Sideswipe's palm. Anna couldn't help the satisfied grin that stretched over her lips.

"What are you going to do? Shoot me? Because that just seems to solve everything doesn't it?"

"Anna," Sideswipe warned sharply.

"That's it!" With an angry snarl Sunstreaker fired his weapon.

Sideswipe covered her with his other hand and rolled out of the way, bumping her already bruised body, for the bullet to hit not so harmlessly into a support beam of a cat walk with a metallic ring. The beam split in half causing the structure to groan but miraculously it held up. The building's massive rolling doors opened and a familiar roar pounded through Anna's ears even through Sideswipe's black fingers.

"What are you fraggers doing in here?" Ironhide's voice boomed.

"None of your business!" Sunstreaker snarled and an exchange of fire was heard from overhead.

"We're so fragged." Sideswipe groaned.

Anna would have tried to wiggle out of his grip to see exactly what was going on but her instincts won out this time and she hunkered down to wait out the heat.

"Cease fire!" Ratchet's voice rang out over the space that was quickly becoming overcrowded with so many large mechs and silence issued nearly immediately. That is it became quiet after a loud clang of metal against metal.

"Aggh! What the pit!" Sunstreaker cursed.

"Where is the human girl?" a feminine voice asked coolly.

Sunstreaker must have pointed in their direction because the next thing the female's metallic voice said was, "Sideswipe please return her before Ratchet blows a gasket."

There was a grunt from the lime-green medic and Sideswipe finally complied. He was standing again and opened his hands up to reveal Anna a little ruffled from the roll over. Her body was going to _hate_ her in the morning. She tried to quickly straighten her hair out of habit and to ignore the nerves building up in her over the intense stares she got.

"What? He started it."

She didn't have to point or look for all the transformers in the room to know she was talking about. All of their optics shot over to the yellow mech fuming a few yards away with a basketball size dent in his cranial. Ratchet gripped a massive wrench in his hand, the source of the injury.

"I don't care who's responsible," Ratchet snapped and walked over to Sideswipe who didn't even flinch away.

"Hand over my patient now and I might spare you a trip to my medical bay."

Sideswipe looked down at Anna who gave him a pleading look.

"Sorry," he told her before handing Anna to the waiting medic. "Doctors orders," he half heartedly joked with a chuckle.

Ratchet didn't look amused and closed his hand around her. Anna was not pleased to be back in doctor Jackle's clutches, or as Sideswipe once so accurately put it, the Hatchet's clutches. He turned on his heals with an angry huff from his vents and grumbled to Ironhide to take care of the insubordinates while he dealt with Anna. The stocky mech grunted in acknowledgement with a, "my pleasure."

Ratchet left the building in a foul enough mood that kept any of the other Cybertronians from following though the three motorcycle femme's looked like they wanted to come, uncertainty and concern crossed over all three of their faces. Anna wondered if she would ever get a good talk with them. A female of their species had to be more logical than all of these old crusty testosterone driven mechs she was surrounded by.

After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence Anna finally spoke up. "So what was with the party crash back there?"

His intense gaze made her flinch and a sudden tingling sensation washed over her body at the gaze of his optics.

"Lennox reported you missing and Barricade was becoming increasingly agitated, claiming you were dying and demanded we 'save' you..."

Anna bit her lip, "Well Little miss Sunshine _did_ think it would be funny to knock me around like a ragdoll."

The lime-green mech stopped in his tracks. "Little miss-what?"

Anna couldn't help but laugh at the flabbergasted expression on his facial plates. He returned to being sour rather quickly though. "Sunstreaker has damaged you?"

She waved her hand in a kinda-sort of way. A _'humph'_ came from his vocals but said nothing more on the subject until they became closer to a building Anna knew held Barricade. She could feel his presence grow stronger the closer they got.

"This might be sudden," the CMO finally spoke up. "But before the whole twin fiasco I had planned on asking for your assistance. That is, only if you are willing." He stopped in the hallway and looked down at Anna in wait of an answer.

"Help you with what?" she asked carefully with all of her internal alarm bells suddenly flaring.

"The Decepticon is still in critical condition and I'm afraid with how strong the bond appears to be that if we lose him we might lose you as well. If my hypothesis is correct then if we combine the two Allspark energies within each of you, momentarily restoring the flow, then perhaps it will speed up his healing. All I would require of you is to simply touch him."

Anna opened her mouth like a fish out of water so Ratchet briefly continued, "If I am correct then the link should repair most of his systems enough that I can move him to my proper medical bay. If I were to transport Barricade in his current condition he would die."

"Touch him? He would kill me," she said in disbelief.

"That's not possible. The Decepticon is weak and strapped down as an extra precaution."

Anna thought it was absurd since even an injured transformer could easily crush her. She glared at him thoughtfully then shrugged. "If I die I blame you."

The medic chuckled, "Ironhide and that insufferable engineer would have my cranial unit if anything happened. I swear on my spark no harm will come to you."

Well he _was_ swearing on his 'heart' which seemed to be a big deal among the Autobots so she gave in. "Fine. I just don't have to touch anything weird do I?"

"Primus no!"

"Just checking."

Ratchet walked a small distance down the hall and entered in a password on the keypad to allow entry to the room Anna knew held Barricade. The small makeshift table was gone leaving nothing but Barricade lying on the floor with several beeping machines and fluid filled pumps connected to him. Jolt was checking one of the tubes consistency and Prowl was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chassis. Two of the mech's looked over when Ratchet entered and Anna couldn't help but stare down at Barricade who was glaring back at her specifically. The metal bar across his garnet optics shifted downwards and Anna was surprised to see he really possessed only two optics rather than the four the movable piece created the illusion of and only made him look even more alien.

She wanted to shout _"What!"_ at him but resisted the childish urge.

Something in her chest ached and Anna could feel a tug at her limbs. Her body wanted to move closer to the dangerous 'con lying on the floor but her mind was trying to run the opposite direction. This was ludicrous.

"Are you certain this is a good idea?" Jolt asked.

"Calculations prove there is a ninety five percent certainty it will work," Prowl clipped.

Anna was leaning towards Jolt's uncertainty but kept her mouth firmly shut. It was hard to resist the mixed emotions when standing so close to the Decepticon.

"Are you ready?" Ratchet asked.

Anna gave him a short nod and the CMO began walking at a slow pace towards Barricade. Prowl moved from his relaxed manor against the wall, which never seemed all that relaxed to begin with, and unfolded his arms with a cautious step forwards of his own. Jolt on the other hand was staking a few steps back with a nasty glare set on the Decepticon.

"You understand what I am going to tell her to do and why so if you so much as twitch I'll have my assistant over there flip an important switch and you'll be out for longer than a few solar cycles," Ratchet warned darkly.

Barricade scoffed but the sound came out unsuccessfully when it ended in a rattling cough. The Decepticon really did look like hell and the closer Anna got the more a feeling of tiredness and sickness washed over her.

Ratchet hovered his hand a foot in the air and waited for Anna to clamber off. He stayed in a crouched position over her but it did nothing to make her feel better. Now there was only the towering form of Ratchet behind her and the menacing form of Barricade laid out in front of her. She wasn't intimidated in the least, noooo. Anna wondered when she began being so sarcastic about everything.

The automatic door opened causing nobody but Anna to jump as Ironhide entered the room not so quietly. It seemed his presence was expected because he wasn't usurped from the room or chastised as he rounded the Decepticon with a distinct whirring sound of his weapons systems coming online.

"Don't try anything funny or I'll blast yer' head off," he growled threateningly. "I'm here to put you down if you do anything stupid," he ended with a spat.

Anna could feel Barricade's annoyance and anger flare but he didn't comment on the weapon-totting mech's threat.

"So what exactly am I supposed to do?" she didn't want this to drag out forever and it was growing increasingly uncomfortable under all of the hateful glares she could practically feel bouncing around like static in the room.

"Just touch the plating on his arm," Ratchet offered.

Anna stretched out a hand, reaching for the Decepticon's black and white armor and watched his turned head staring down at her all the while. His teeth were really huge and sharp…

"Like this?" She touched the surprisingly hot metal with the flat palm of her hand.

There was an instant feeling of release within her body that was foreign but not uncomfortable. All of Barricade's emotions became amplified and Anna could feel more than just echoes from his excruciating pain. Anna's limbs shook and she fell to her knees from the ferocity of it. Ratchet sent layering scans over both of them white Ironhide lurched forwards with a roar only to be held back by Prowl who barely had enough strength to keep the heavy mech at bay.

"What did you do to her?" he snarled.

Something began bubbling up in her like white hot pokers and electricity began sparking around her body. Anna was startled at first and so was Barricade, especially when they traveled from her hand to the Decepticon's plating where it began to spread out over his entire frame. Barricade arched his back in convulsive pain causing the chains to groan under the strain and Anna couldn't help but flinch as she received a rather strong echo layered with a pained howl from the 'con.

She wanted to pull away but her body wouldn't let her. She dug her free hand into her jeans and grit her teeth as the surge increased in ferocity.

"Amazing," Ratchet whispered from over head. From his point of view he could visibly see Barricade's inner workings refusing and repairing themselves. Cracks in his pumps disappeared as if they were never there, severed lines held together by clamps melted the tools and used them to seal the parts as if there was never any damage at all and his plating reformed around the gaping hole in his chassis to seal his insides from the outside world.

The process was rapid and finished after only a few minutes. Anna's body was relinquished back to her and she dropped her hand to the cold floor and tried to steady her heavy breathing. She was tired, really tired as if all the energy had been drained out of her. Apparently so did Barricade because he was already offline.

"Did I-do it?" she asked with fatigue lacing her voice.

"You did a god job Annabelle."

Ratchet bent down and scoped her up with a light scan and stood to look over the Decepticon.

"We better get a move on before he wakes up next. His strength will be significantly increased with his repaired systems."

Ironhide grunted and walked up to the 'con's still form. He flipped a gun out from subspace causing panic to flood Anna but he harmlessly shot the chains holding Barricade down and bent down to haul the Decepticon's dead weight. Prowl was next to him to help and by that time Anna couldn't keep her eyes open any longer and curled up in Ratchets hand and closed her eyes.

* * *

**I posted the first two chapters to a new TF/Zoids crossover fic titled 'Toy Soldiers' if anyone is interested in taking a peak. It takes place on Cybertron in an AU G1 universe, a better summary is on my profile. Updates will be random since AOD is still my priority until it is finished.**


	26. Chapter 26

**100 Reviews! I love y'all's feed back, thoughts, and opinions.  
**

**Author note:** This might be my last regular update because next week I'm moving into my dorm, yes I'm starting my freshman year during the summer :(. I'll update whenever possible which I hope isn't too infrequent since writing is what I love to do and it's a good de-stressor.

**I am HORRIBLE at conversations, especially when they involve Optimus. I have a tendency to make him explain things on and on and…well on. ****I get him talking and he won't shut up like a little girl...XD.****That was part of my delay for this chappy besides I was suffering a small writers block so it feels a little choppy to me.  
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**Disclaimer: **I do not own transformers

* * *

"Annabelle you have long passed your status period it's time to get up."

The said girl crumpled a layer of thin covers and pulled them over her eyes to block out the irritating light overhead and the CMO she knew was hovering above. Anna had woken up some time ago, which was still late according to her watch, but fatigue plagued her along with an urge to strike against Ratchet by staying in bed and ignoring the world around her. She wondered if having an hour alone to herself was too much to ask. Barricade was still offline and the only thing between her and what she wanted was the medic.

Anna felt something large and stiff touch her back and gently push her over on her stomach. A sharp pain laced up her back muscles in the form of sharp spasms. Barking ensued from the cage near the foot of her bed.

"Ow! Hey!" She shot into a sitting position and would have hit her head against Ratchet's hovering finger if his reflexes had been any slower. His face was at least ten feet above with bright blue optics but with his mass it still easily felt like an invasion of space.

"Don't give me that look. It's unhealthy for humans to recharge and stay immobile for so long."

She glared at him, "Are you Dr. Phil now? I don't need a giant robot telling me how to live my life."

His facial plates lowered into a deeper scowl but Anna couldn't for the life of her figure out what he was thinking.

"Your hormonal imbalance has been fluxuating drastically lately. Are you nearing your menstruating period?"

"_What!" _Anna screeched abruptly in her mind. The giant alien robot was accusing her of having PMS. Her face must have looked strange because the CMO chuckled. "It seems I've 'hit the mark'."

"Why is that funny?" One minute this guy would be all grouchy and demanding then the next he would be laughing at her and cracking jokes. This Autobot was messed up in the head.

"Oh, nothing my dear. You need to get up and clean yourself at least. Maintenance is vital to the human's immune system. I have some work to do and if I come back and you're still in bed I'll dump a bucket of _cold_ water on your cranial."

Anna felt the heat rise in her face in a swell of anger as she watched the CMO get up with a hiss of gears and walk into his office with the automatic door sliding shut behind him.

Sometime between her last excursion around the base and when she returned someone had gone to the liberty of bringing a portable toilet and a makeshift shower with a box full of clothes and toiletries on her shelf. Anna was grateful for the items no matter who it was, even if it was the cranky medic, and gathered up everything she needed for a quick shower.

It didn't get very hot but it was far better than nothing. Sometime while washing her hair she felt Barricade stir at the back of her mind, a feeling like a sudden realization lapping at her conscious, telling her he was finally awake. Over the course of her passing out Ironhide and Prowl had dragged the Decepticon's status locked frame up to the medical bay where he was now strapped down to a berth with several machines attached to him. Anna let the pulsating water fall over her sore back for a while longer before shutting it off.

She got dressed behind the shower into clean clothes and walked out onto her shelf while scrubbing her soaked hair with a towel. Sitting down at the edge, she put her legs through the railing and straddled one of the bars. Pressing one hot cheek still warm from the shower on the metal beam she relished in the sting of cold and looked down at Barricade who was watching her with his sharp garnet optics.

"Well. You don't look like complete hell anymore."

The 'con made a sound that could have been placed as a strange snort with the added bonus of amusement seeping through. "I'm still in the pit," he ground in his naturally rough voice and she watched in mild fascination as his knife like teeth moved with his words.

A lopsided grin stretched over her lips as she recalled that's what transformers called hell. "Me too asshole."

"I wouldn't be insulting me if I were you," he glared as if trying to be intimidating but to her tired mind it fell on deaf ears.

"You know what? I'm at the point where I just don't care anymore."

His curiosity spiked and an emotion of mild-bitter understanding drizzled through their invisible bond, the mere thought made her shiver. She was connected to this giant predatory thing.

"I believe a malfunction is more likely unless you humans are just always so emotionally unstable. You nearly fried my circuits over the last few solar cycles," he spat.

"When life gives you lemons, make orange juice. Then sit back and watch the world try to figure out how you did it."

He quirked an optic ridge, "Perhaps the Autobot's pet is broken?"

Anna laughed hard enough to have tears to wipe away. "It's a saying. Not a malfunction or whatever."

It was funny how she didn't get mad whenever he called her their pet, it sounded more like an insult to the Autobots than her. Either that or her mind was playing tricks in order to make her feel better, probably the latter.

"You humans haven't made sense _once_ since I came to this planet."

They lapsed into silence where Anna took to staring at the floor far below her dangling feet while she continued to rest her cheek on the metal that was now the same temperature as her. Apparently whatever she did to heal the 'con completely drained her and it was muddying her thoughts a bit.

"So," she started casually. "How did you get a giant hole in your chest?"

There was a soft whirr of gears and Anna couldn't help but look up as a fresh wave of hatred radiated through his side of the bond.

"That disgusting organic designated Galloway cornered me at my weakest and decided he needed to perform and experiment on my spark before it was extinguished. If I ever find him I'll crush the life right out of that worm!" Barricade curled one of his restrained fists and Anna could hear the clank of metal as his fingers clenched against his palm. Honestly, she was surprised he revealed so much.

The name sounded familiar but Anna couldn't quite place her finger on who it was exactly. "The Autobots were in on it too?" she asked curiously.

Barricade laughed, a throaty-grating sound backed with pure mirth. "The exact opposite. The humans are backstabbing the Autobots and working by their own agendas."

Anna had been slowly starting thinking it was the other way around but what Barricade said made so much sense she wasn't surprised in the least. "People are greedy," she stated and took to staring at her feet again, shifting her other cheek on another cold patch of metal.

"You are quite different from our last meeting."

"Hmm?" she hummed tiredly.

Another short silence came which Anna didn't mind while drifting closer to sleep and was vaguely aware of the sound of the automatic door opening followed by heavy mechanical footsteps

"Awake are we?" the medic clipped at Barricade who in turn gave him an undignified snort.

"And what are you doing there?"

Anna could almost sense the massive CMO standing over her shelf and didn't fight him when he picked her up gently with both hands to place her in the highly uncomfortable twin bed. A tingling sensation passing over her skin woke her a little but she was becoming used to it.

Anna opened one eye and stared up at Ratchet long answer him, "I'm still trying to figure out how to make that orange juice."

* * *

Anna didn't wake up again until her bladder came calling and she needed to use the restroom again thanks to the infinite supply of water Ratchet always had available. Barricade was also awake and wallowing in himself over what, she didn't know. He almost seemed to be in that strange passive place she found herself in too whenever there was nothing to do and her brain was tired of thinking.

Ratchet came in by the time she was plopping back down on the bed and Anna almost swore he had some kind of beeper that alerted him every time she woke up. Barricade stirred from his quiet state and Anna could feel mistrust leaking though him at the Autobot's approach.

"It's unhealthy for humans to be cooped up in one place for very long. We're going for a walk." Ratchet nudged her with a servo and held out his palm expectantly.

Anna glared at the large fingers but sighed and gave in. She really was going a bit stir crazy even if she did still feel like a semi had run over her. Climbing in, Ratchet began moving before she was settled and Anna found his fingers to be quite a good back rest. She glanced at Barricade when being carried past his berth and he was glaring back. He was unhappy but not unsettled.

"So what is the real reason?" Anna asked once they were outside the room.

Ratchet's systems whirred momentarily before he replied. "You are a smart one. I'm sorry but I cannot disclose any information while around the Decepticon. You seem to be stable again and Optimus is insisting that you talk with him. It seems urgent."

Anna felt her cheeks heat up at remembering her outburst. She partially blamed Barricade's building emotions with her own. It seemed that when they were in the same mind set the feeling was amplified whether it be mistrust or terror. The massive leader Optimus Prime did terrify her and just thinking about talking to him raised her heart rate, something that was catching Barricade's attention. She had to calm down if she didn't want any repeats.

"I promise I won't freak again. That was just a, ah, malfunction."

Ratchet made an amused grunt but didn't say anything more.

He walked the short distance that would have taken her at least thirty minutes on foot and walked into Optimus' office that was occupied by the large mech. The Prime was currently scribbling on a large data pad with a long frown carved into his tired facial plates. Anna felt her heart skip a beat and the same energy from before was giving her the conflicting feeling of going closer and turning away to walk right out. Unfortunately Ratchet didn't give her that option because he was holding her captive in his hand at least two stories up.

"Optimus, I brought Anna as you requested."

The leader's optics flashed upwards and his dental plates turned into a smile. "Ratchet my old friend. Thank you for following my request. If you don't mind I would like to speak with Annabelle Swift alone," he stood and greeted.

Ratchet walked up to his desk and deposited Anna on the smooth surface.

"Of course, but after I take her back you're going to get some recharge in or so help me I'll weld your aft to the berth."

"There is too much work to be done and I'm the only one who can oversee they are completed. I don't have the time."

"Posh, as your CMO I _order_ you get some rest."

"Ratchet," the blue and red mech warned.

"We'll discuss this after your meeting," Ratchet clipped and exited the room with his words hanging.

Optimus sat back down in his chair with a hiss of hydraulics and a whoosh of air from his vents as if settling in for another round of tired, old hash information. He looked dogged tired making her wonder just what he did all of the time.

"Greetings, Annabelle Swift. I regret that our last meeting was too stressful. I had planned on speaking with you and your guardians together but this way seems to better suit you."

She didn't like the guilty feeling that fluttered in her stomach. Anna sat in the human size seat and cleared her throat to try and calm her nerves. The last thing she needed was to sync her emotions with Barricade again and freaking out.

"No, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. Just a freak accident." Great, she thought, she only became extremely polite when she was nervous. "You can just call me Anna by the way."

"'Of course Anna, from what they told me it appears you were sought out and targeted by a pretender."

"Pretender?"

"A pretender is a small transformer that can create an organic exoskeleton over its body instead of metallic armor. The Decepticon that disguised itself as your creator was one of these rare transformers."

_The snake head freak,_ she provided. Instantly thoughts of her mom raced through her head. She really should see about calling her some time soon. That brought up another question, where the heck did they throw John? Anna hadn't seen hide nor hair of the man since she returned which wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

"Why would it target me?" Instantly, she knew it was a stupid question.

The spokes in his optics shifted during a short pause before he spoke. "I'm afraid the enemy knows of your special circumstance."

Special circumstance, so that's what they were calling it these days.

"That I'm somehow connected with Barricade?" she offered.

Optimus turned his gaze down further. "No. They don't appear to know about Barricade's connection to the Allspark because there have been no direct attempts on the base but he has not shown as many active signs as you have. You host a portion of the Allspark in you. If the Decepticon's were to ever learn of this then they would be after you with all the resources they posses which is precisely what I fear has already happened.

"So I'm a target now." she deadpanned.

"I'm afraid so."

"How did they find out?"

Anna hadn't had very many run-ins with the Decepticons but they were obviously a force to reckon with.

Optimus made a sound of clearing his vocals. "That is one of the other reasons I wanted to speak with you and why privately. Have you been experiencing any strange…dreams lately?"

Anna furrowed her brow and tried to remember her most recent REM sleep. It was a bit foggy but the more she strained the clearer it became. The battle between the Autobots and Decepticons in a city and being chased by Megatron…that voice. She almost shivered at the recollection that rang in her head like a crystal clear bell couple with the icy chill that had slipped through her veins at its satisfied rumble, _"There you are." _

Barricade was beginning to feel unsettled and Anna couldn't blame him. She was just scaring herself stupid now.

"A…few," she said slowly.

Optimus leaned in closer causing Anna's heart to pound, the energy like feeling from before made the air feel like tangible static at such close proximity. She straightened in her chair and had to grip the edges to keep from running off the high table that would undoubtedly result a broken bone. Promising not to create a repeat from before she used the last of her nerves to keep planted in the seat.

Optimus' optics studied her not so subtle body language. "My presence alarms you. Why?"

Anna might have laughed, drily, but she was too ridged to even crack a sarcastic smile.

"I don't know. You're just really big…I guess." _Nice answer_, she snarked.

Scratch the politeness when simply nervous, as a nervous _wreck_ her thinking process went to hell.

Barricade was quickly growing irritated and suddenly a lash of anger burst through which was enough to clear her head a bit. Anna summarized Ratchet must have just gotten back.

Optimus backed up a little bit but he didn't comment on her stutter, he only looked thoughtful.

"In your dreams, what have you seen?"

Anna used Barricade's mild anger, well mild compared to before, to distract from her fears and nervousness. It was surprising how different the bond seemed when she actually knew it was present and could tell the difference between her own emotions and his. It was almost like going through puberty a second time, a thought that made her blanch.

"I saw a battle in a large city."

Optimus waited patiently so she continued after a deep breath. "Ya'll were fighting the Decepticons, ones I haven't seen before. Starscream and Megatron were their names. They were chasing after some guy with a box thing under his arm…and then they were chasing me too through some old building…I don't know, it was kind of a nightmare."

She wondered if telling him about the phantom voice would be a good idea but she just concluded it wasn't vital to what he wanted. It didn't belong to any of the transformers she saw, it only had a horrendous feeling that had her skin crawling even when she just thought about it.

"Anything else?"

She shook her head slowly and felt Barricades anger drop to severe irritation again.

Optimus shuttered his optics and pinched two massive fingers over the bridge of his nose before leaning back into his chair with a groan of his systems. "Youngling, I know you are frightened but I need you to tell me everything you know. Even the smallest amount of information could be vital"

Anna weighed her options quickly and decided she wouldn't be labeled too crazy if she said there was a creepy disembodied voice in her dream, actually the more she thought about it the more absurd it seemed to become.

"Well there was this really creepy voice and in my dream it actually hurt for some reason…it said _"There you are,"_ Or something…It kind of freaked me out."

Anna couldn't believe how stupid she sounded and instantly chastised herself for mentioning it though Optimus seemed the opposite as he onlined his optics and sat up straighter.

"And then I could have sworn I heard you say something and that's when I woke up." _more like felt his presence_.

"It appears you are not the only one."

Anna had to do a double take. The giant robot was hearing creepy voices in his dreams too? She didn't even know robots _could_ dream.

"I had a similar recollection of the battle at mission city where Megatron was thought to have been defeated and the Allspark destroyed save for one fragment. The boy you speak of is Samuel Witwicky and he is a human I owe a great debt to. It is unusual for us to dream but they are no different from actually memories and are classified as a glitch. The oddity was I felt your presence and the Fallen's from within it. If I am right I fear you are in great danger."

"Wait. You mean you were really there? I mean-"

"Yes. I felt your fear and the approaching Fallen trying to consume your life force. I was afraid he had perhaps caught you in real time."

"No-but how?"

"The fallen has a strong link with the Allspark which allows him to locate it whenever the power becomes active. I believe the dream was caused by the Allspark itself which is why he was able to find you."

Anna almost felt her mind spinning in circles. "What is the Fallen?"

Optimus' suddenly looked even more tired. "He was once a Prime but greed devoured him. Many of my ancestors gave up their lives to protect future planets from his wrath. Apparently their efforts were in vain"

"So I have a maniac after me. Great." and there she went running her sarcasm again, what happened to getting angry most of the time? Anna guessed she had Barricade to thank for the new way she was reacting.

"But how did you end up conscious in my dream?" Anna wondered if he had some kind of tracker on her too and dreaded the massive Autobot always being able to find her whenever she had an 'episode'.

"I believe our dreams synced because I hold the Matrix of Leadership."

Anna couldn't help but override her uneasiness with curiosity. "And, what is that?" she asked simply and wondered if there was any end to the bizarreness surrounding the transformers.

"The Matrix of Leadership is in essence a piece of the Allspark. It hosts the sparks and power of the Primes of the past. It has the ability to tap into the very matrix itself just as the Allspark can; it is where every mech's spark goes after their time. The only founding difference is the carrier and the Allspark has the sole ability to create sparks."

Anna figured she had already seen the life giving feature first hand…_my poor toaster._

"You have felt it too, haven't you? There is a strong presence of energy whenever we step into the same room."

Anna nodded, "Kind of…" _Yes, _her brain snapped. Why was she being so modest?

"They were made in the same manor by the same creator and that is why both objects are 'aware' of each other. They way they react to one another depends on the holder."

Anna couldn't help but feel her stomach flutter again. No matter how impersonal his words sounded she couldn't help the plague of guilt that surged through her at simple statements and she doubted over reading was the problem.

"So what would happen if they met?"

Optimus' optics darkened and Anna felt her chest heave in warning. Static she could feel like tension through a rubber band was springing away from the giant mech, desperate to escape and run the other direction.

"Never, under any circumstance should the two energies be combined. I cannot tell you what the exact outcome would be but it would undoubtedly be disastrous."

Mentally, she snorted through the tension. His reasoning made no sense at all.

"Anna, fate rarely calls upon us in a moment of our choosing," he rumbled softly. "The Allspark chose you and Barricade to carry its power just as the Matrix of Leadership chose me to bear the title of Prime so many millennia ago."

There was an understanding in his optics and the lowered tone of his voice, no, not simply an understanding, a deep _comprehension_ of exactly what she was going through. "_Understanding is not the same as comprehending"_ They were words that her dad once spoke when he talked about his times overseas.

People may understand what happens during war, how horrible and nasty it is through pictures and media stories but to a soldier it is so much different than simply understanding what is happening. They see the blood and gore, hell, they create it. They feel the bullets and the fear, the searing heat of flames drifting with burnt smells clogging their sinuses. They are the ones forced to make decisions in the heat of battle while knowing they could be an added corpse next to the one they're standing over. _Understanding is not the same as comprehending._

The words sunk in over a short pause. As strange as they sounded she couldn't help but latch onto them and mull them around in her head. She didn't choose this and Barricade would rather see her dead than be connected to her. The only reason he hadn't squashed her like a bug was because of the possibility it would kill him.

Wait, since when was _fate_ any dictator of her life?

The automatic doors opened throwing Anna's thought process off with an abrupt jolt.

Sideswipe came in with a broad smile, none the wiser. "You rang boss?"

Optimus nodded. "Ratchet is a bit busy at the moment and Anna needs to be watched over but I have another meeting."

"I'm on it boss 'bot."

Sideswipe came up to the table and laid a palm down with a soft clank. Anna climbed into his palm so quickly she must have looked like a skittish squirrel darting up a tree. Sideswipe curled his fingers protectively and held his arm close to his body.

"Anna," Optimus addressed in his calm but demanding voice that made her shiver. "Remember what I said."

She nodded slowly and that's when Sideswipe saluted sharply to the tall mech and left the room. Anna sighed in relief when the door hissed shut behind them and muscles she didn't even know had been tense relaxed all over her body which made the overall soreness in her body magnify.

"So what was boss 'bot talking with you about?"

"I don't know, some weird lecture about fate." _It wasn't dumb. _Curse her mind, why wasn't it letting her lie? Screw it, this was Sideswipe and she promised not to shrink into herself around him.

"And something about the Fallen."

"The Fallen? I've never heard of it."

Anna was surprised he didn't know. "He said it was a 'fallen' Prime that basically turned evil. Somehow the Fallen can track the Allspark's energy and apparently he's found me so now I'm a target."

They rounded another corner.

"But you're safe here," he said confidently, she wasn't sure where he got it from.

Anna maneuvered an uncomfortable bump digging into her hip bone from the pocket of her jeans and produced an IPod as the source of discomfort.

"You still have that?"

"Yeah, but it's fried. I think it happened when I went all Static Shock."

"Let me see."

Anna held the dead device up and Sideswipe took it with his free hand. Tweezer like protrusions maneuvered out of his finger and plucked the music player from her grip. He brought it closer to his optics and twisted it around to see different angles, scanning it.

"I could work on it. It might not be as fried as you think."

"Ok, that would be great. I feel bad for breaking it."

There was something about guys and fixing things, she couldn't understand why they liked doing it so much but if it made them happy then more power to them. Besides, if the walking super computer couldn't fix it then it was probably a lost cause.

"Why would you feel bad?-Never mind. You humans never make sense."

He flipped the devise around in his finger and stowed it into his armor along with the tweezers.

"Playing with your pet already? Don't come crying to me when you break it."

Anna bristled, she would recognize that voice anywhere even after only hearing it once. Turning in her spot to face away from Sideswipe, she glared up at the bright yellow mech glowering down at her.

"Well if it isn't Little Miss Sunshine," she spat. "Have you come to brighten my day? Because your attitude would just be the _icing _on the cake.

"Watch your tongue human or you might find yourself unable to speak," Sunstreaker snarled.

"Why does the pot call the kettle black?" Anna chimed.

"That's it!"

Sunstreaker flicked his wrist and a blaster appeared from subspace. _Good, Lord. Here we go again_, Anna thought bitterly.

"Sunny! Cut it out!"

Sideswipe was already moving them out of firing range but his twin's blaster followed their every move. He fired a shot over their heads which Sideswipe gracefully ducked.

"Didn't Ironhide put you in the brig?" 'Sides asked with a yelp.

Sunstreaker actually stopped long enough to chuckle. "These brigs are so flimsy. What made them think they could ever hold me?"

"Point made." Sideswipe dodged another blast and ducked his head before slamming his shoulder into his brother. Anna was covered in a cocoon of fingers and her already exhausted body was jarred around from the screeching impact. She grit her teeth white trying not to bite her tongue and seriously wanted out of there.

Suddenly there was light and Anna went rolling across the floor as the two brothers started brawling in the hallway that now felt extremely cramped with two giant mechs. She scrambled for the wall in an attempt to get out of their way and watched with exasperation as they threw punches and exchanged stupid, empty threats. It wasn't vicious, though Anna didn't have any experience with siblings. There was no spraying laser fire and there weren't any attempts to rip plating off, it was just brothers being brothers.

She sat with her back to the wall and jumped a little when a flaying limb landed uncomfortably close. The walls shook whenever a body part slammed into them or the ground and Anna couldn't help but feel a little peeved. "Take it outside would you," she muttered under her breath.

Barricade was growing exceptionally irate and her growing irritation was probably only bouncing off his own and feeding both of their bad moods.

Barricade suddenly panicked. It was so fast and sharp it had Anna on her feet in seconds, her own primal instincts reacting to the base emotion with adrenaline._ "NO!" _the voice was so sharp and so clear, laced with vicious anger there was no way her mind had conjured it up.

"Guys," she tried but was hardly heard over the glancing of metal against metal.

"You hit like a femme 'bot!" Sunstreaker said through a grunt.

"You look like a femme 'bot!" 'Sides bellowed with another blocked punch.

"Guys," she repeated anxiously. Now Barricade was becoming angry to drown the fear, a feeling she knew all too well.

"GUYS!"

"WHAT!'

They hardly stopped their brawl but Sunstreaker was able to grunt out a reply. Sideswipe spared her a glance and that's when it hit. White hot agony ripped through her middle and sent her doubling over with a cry of pain. It was sharp like a white hot poker and burned just as badly.

"Anna!" Sideswipe got knocked in the heat at his momentary lapse of attention to his brother but he barely registered it and crawled over his twin to get to the young woman holding her midsection.

"What are you half sparked nimrods doing now?"

There was a crash like a bull through a china cabinet and it didn't take much to guess who the flying black mass joining the fray was. Ironhide bashed his way in between them and in a heartbeat he had them spread apart at arm's length. It would have been funny seeing his much shorter and stockier form between them if it hadn't been for another shock of pain.

It happened again, like the poker came back in and stabbed her and Anna went from a crouch to lying on her side in the fetal position. It hurt like _hell_. They were coming in strange waves. First Barricade's anger would sore and then she would feel another wave of agony after it just started to quiet down.

"Sunstreaker how many times have I have to throw you in the brig before you stay there?"

Sideswipe was the quickest to break away from his spitting brother and the cranky old mech.

"Anna? Hey talk to me."

He crouched down near her and hovered a hand close by in uncertainty.

There was cash when Ironhide tossed Sunstreaker aside, receiving an angry snarl from the mech but he ignored it as he came to stand over Sideswipe.

"What the slag?"

Sideswipe seemed to make a split second decisions when he scooped her up off the floor and racing down the halls with his brother and a bellowing Ironhide close behind.

"Did you finally break it?" she heard 'Sunny snark.

"We have to get her to Ratchet! It might have something to do with the Allspark!"

"The Allspark?" was the only thing Sunstreaker said.

"Can it!" Ironhide barked.

The pain began to recede as they raced for the medical bay and Anna was not enjoying the bumpy ride. Sideswipe skidded to a halt in front of the automatic doors and waited impatiently for them to open. When they did he was practically leaping through the door way.

"Ratchet!"

The medical officer was leaning over Barricade on the berth with a strange tool in his hand. Anna regained enough of herself to sit up and look. It was strange how one second she could be in ripping pain and the next, nothing. Barricade was still strapped down but his chest was wide open for the world to see and an angry red spark was glowing hotly from within. His dental plates were grounding together as his optics landed immediately on _her_. Anna blinked back in confusion and glared back thinking, _what the hell did I do?_

"What did you two break now?" the CMO snarled unpleased.

"Nothing! Look!" Sideswipe held Anna out in front of him jerkily and she had to latch onto his finger for fear falling off.

Ironhide came in next with Sunstreaker close behind, both of them nearly smashed into Sideswipe's back.

Ratchet came closer and Anna felt the tall tale prickling sensation of a scan.

"What are you slaggers glitching about. The human is fine," he clipped.

"But she was-" Sideswipe started.

"What are you doing?" Anna cut in while still receiving glares from Barricade that were more than likely trying to send killer beams her way though for what reason she didn't know.

"What the frag does it look like I'm doing?" the Decepticon snarled.

"I wasn't talking to you," Anna snapped. His anger was getting to both of them now, _peachy._

She looked up at Ratchet who immediately understood. "I was checking his spark for any irregularities the Allspark's power might have made thought it seems to have completely integrated into his system."

"What did you stick in there? It freaking hurt."

Ratchet looked flabbergasted. "The procedure stings a little but…by Primus'. You _felt_ it didn't you?"

_Thank you, Captain Obvious, _she wanted to say but bit her tongue.

"Frag it. Whenever I was repairing his other systems you never-I see. It's the spark. Let me see her."

"What? Spit it out already," Ironhide rudely rushed.

Ratchet held out his hand expectantly and Sideswipe hesitantly deposited her. Anna was quickly beginning to feel like a hot potato. In a huffy matter she crossed her arms after Ratchet deposited her on a junked up table filled with parts and watched as he swiped a good portion of it out of the way. He brought one large machine over her head and fiddled with a few knobs.

"What are you doing 'Ratch?" Sideswipe questioned.

"Yes what _are_ you doing?" Sunstreaker added briskly.

"Quiet your yaps," Ratchet ordered.

They fell silent and Anna couldn't help but stare at Barricade and radiate as much irritation his way as she possibly could. This was all his fault, she knew it was. He actually scoffed and flickered his optics to the CMO's back. The machine suddenly beamed down a blue light that hugged her body in a graph much like before and Ratchet brought her outlined image on the large screen. He studied it as glyphs shifted around energy charts and whatever else was up there, which was all a wild guess for Anna.

"By the Allspark," he gasped.

"Out with it already old man," Sunstreaker clipped as Sideswipe strained to understand the medical jargon.

Ratchet walked purposely over to Barricade and studied his exposed spark receiving a nasty, "_What_?" from the 'con in response.

"I don't believe it."

Both Anna and Barricade were irritated and about ready to strangle someone. Nothing else at this point could surprise her so she just wanted him to say it already, damn it!

"According to these energy signatures Annabelle has a small portion of Barricade's spark hosting in her body."

There was a loud crash from the waiting mechs with muddled outcries.

"What!" both Anna and Barricade shrieked. Ok so she lied, surprises were still very possible.

* * *

**I kind of changed the Matrix' roll in this story compared to the movie since in my version Optimus already has it. Eh, I thought the Jesus moments were a little ridiculous in the movie anyway even though this guy has died and come back **_**how**_** many times now throughout transformers history? So I'm going a little AU with this, heck this whole story is an AU of the movie what am I saying?**


	27. Chapter 27

**And without further ado I give you this chapter, only two weeks late. Workloads in the summer are apparently pretty crazy, hope y'all enjoy all 17 pages!**

**I love y'all's reviews! I read every single one of them and each one makes writing this all the more worth it!  
**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own transformers.

* * *

Nobody could believe it, Anna couldn't believe it, but sure enough right there on the screen where Ratchet had pulled up an image of her internal workings was a blurry mass wrapped around her _heart _which made it impossible to see the organ. She didn't know what the hell the monitors were saying through the encrypted alien language but Ratchet informed the room, which was quickly turning into a melting pot of outraged mechs, what the basic run down of all the data meant. It became obvious that he had been prattling his processor about Anna and Barricade's 'condition' ever since the very first incident and had been building hypothesis until this point where he was more than sure on his conclusion.

Apparently when the Allspark reacted to protect Anna and inconsequently itself from Barricade when he decided killing her would be his last ravage at revenge against the Autobots, it found a new way to survive. The already shredded energy split itself between them and in the process gouged a part of Barricade's spark out and transferred it to her body so the Allspark had a familiar and compatible sustenance to draw its energy from and thrive. It described Barricade's chest pains though he never told anyone about them and never would.

The Allspark fragment was apparently too thinned out to transfer completely to Barricade as it wanted so it set up the odd positive and minus reaction between the two of them; essentially she was Barricade's 'charger' since most of it resided into his more complex and familiar systems. But because she was organic and so much smaller; and despite the smaller quantity residing in her body, she reacted more violently to its energies with less control over it.

It was still in the dark as _how_ exactly this new realization would affect the both of them. She had a piece of his _spark, _the very essence of a transformer. For some reason that bond was easier to understand then thinking about the Allspark creating all the strange side effects, though it was the catalyst of everything. The emotions she and Barricade shared was because emotions came from the spark; hence why they also knew when each other were near because his spark was calling out to its lost half. She wasn't sure what that meant but apparently it was deeply unsettling to every mech in the room. They seemed controversial over calling a 'bond' which was whatever Anna's guess was.

Ratchet had shoved them out a while ago which Anna was thankful for. She had way too much swimming around in her small organic brain. What if the government found out? They had to know about the Allspark in her by now, which made it surprising that they weren't after her now, but what if they found out she had a piece of a _spark_ in her? After trying to rip Barricade's out it was obvious they were interested in them. She shivered remembering his mauled frame and the pain she had felt leaking from his very spark as it reached for an out lit of any kind.

Anna felt like a mess and all she could do was numbly stroke Kaden's head through his cage. She really wished they would let her take him for a walk around the island; maybe she would circle the whole darn thing. She knew her Doberman had to be feeling tense from being cooped up in one place and picking up after him wasn't all that much fun, though it was amusing to see Ratchet's disgust when Anna handed him a steaming bag of…

Hell, she needed to get out and walk, turn into Ironhide and shoot something, run a mile, fight with Sunstreaker; wait, why would she willingly grace him with her presence only to chew his aft off? Anna was going to drive herself crazy soon, she knew it. She just wanted someone to give her something to do! Give her a bottle of Clorox and a scrubber to clean every darn toilet bowl on the base for God's sake!

"HUMAN!"

Anna started so suddenly she rammed her hand into the cages roof and scrapped her dry skin against the door with a painful sting.

"Ow, ow, ow." She shook her hand and blew on the ripped epidermis, glowered at the blood welling to the surface.

"What!" she snapped at the Decepticon below.

His chest was no longer open which she realized was a wave of relief for him but it didn't lesson his abrasive disposition in the least.

"You're going to worry _both_ of our circuits into a fried mess. Cease your femme circuits!" he snapped.

"Stop it? You stop it! I didn't ask for this! I'm a freaking energizer bunny for an alien robot! Do you have any idea what the government will do if they get our hands on us?"

It was probably a ludicrous thought from all the books and TV shows she had watched where the government was the ultimate enemy crawling with evil agents but she couldn't help but feel they were going to rain down on her like blood sucking mosquitoes drawn to carbon dioxide.

"Yes I do," he snapped. "Or have you already forgotten how your very liaison tried to gouge my spark out!"

She had a piece of him inside her.

"I think I'm going to be sick." Anna unsteadily stood and whipped her sweaty palms on her jeans before heading for the portable toilet. She really did feel as if her twisting stomach would up heave everything she had eaten which wasn't much in the last twenty four hours.

"Why all the fragged up-"

She made it to the fowl bowl and dry heaved into the white box as Barricade's anger crashed into her wave after wave. Anna always thought it was ludicrous to make yourself sick over worry but at this rate she really might strain her immune system until it's was as shot as her nerves. She wondered what Barricade thought of all this. He mostly kept to himself with the occasional glare or outburst of anger, or voiced his annoyance over her shifting and building emotions. He loved to point out how annoying her mood changes were.

Her chest, her heart, it actually hurt like his enveloping spark was crushing the soft organ.

Barricade suddenly felt uncomfortably surprised and Anna could hear the warning snarl ripping from his vocals.

"Get out insect."

"Hey, I was just bringing what you asked for. Don't get all snippy with me."

Anna recognized that voice echoing about the massive space but she couldn't believe it. Carefully, she picked herself off the floor and inched towards the railing. She gripped the iron and looked over the small railing and felt her heart skip a beat. Below her was Tyler dressed in military clothing and he held something the size of his palm out to Barricade.

The 'Con must have felt the irregularity in her heart beat, his fragging spark was wrapped around it after all, because he looked up at that instant which caused Tyler's eyes to follow.

"Anna?"

She felt her legs shake and was sure if she wasn't already gripping the railing then she would have collapsing on the floor. She couldn't describe the feeling but it washed over her body like an intoxicating wave. Barricade growled with displeasure.

Tyler forgot the bulky black box he was holding, dropping it to the floor, and began running up the stairs to her shelf. Anna felt life burst into her limbs and she was practically running down the steps to meet him. They collided and Anna's force nearly sent then sprawling down the long flight of stairs.

"Woah!"

Tyler caught her and gripped the railing so they wouldn't go spilling backwards. Her limbs were shaking with jitters that made her legs feel unstable.

"Can we get out of here? Please?" She breathed out quickly. Now was her chance to escape before her mind imploded on itself.

"Of course!"

Tyler was already pulling her down the stairs with a firm hold about her wrist but it wasn't so tight that it hurt.

"Where do you think you're going human? I order you to halt!"

They were almost to the door when Tyler stopped and swiveled to face Barricade who was craning his neck to see them with his ferocious head.

"I'm not taking orders from you anymore."

Anna didn't see the smirk on Tyler's face because she was too busy trying to drag him out the human size door before he changed his mind.

"No one defies me!" Barricade snarled as they disappeared through it.

Anna dashed down the large hall, dragging Tyler behind her with a death grip about his wrist that probably wasn't too kind to his nerves.

"Hey slow down there cowgirl."

Tyler planted his feet, gripped her wrist and swung Anna back around. The sudden jerk surprised her and sent Anna face planting into his chest where she awkwardly caught his other arm in an attempt to keep from falling over. Anna pulled back with a mumbled "ow," as she rubbed her stinging nose. Running into his chest was about the equivalent of running into Ironhide, solid, she didn't remember him being that way before.

Then he did something completely unexpected, he pulled her up to him and planted his lips against hers. Surprise immobilized her for a moment as he brain tried to process what he was doing until a different, strange feeling shot from her chest to her cheeks. Barricade's furry rippled through her like a tsunami but it only made her smile, it was actually funny how angry he could get simply because of her emotions.

Tyler pulled back more slowly, still panting from their run from the med bay. "You don't know how long I've been wanting to do that," he said with a sheepish grin.

Anna wasn't sure what to say, she was honestly dumbfounded. Never in her life had a guy paid attention to her, let alone _kiss_ her. No one had ever had the guts to approach her and she was always admittedly too busy diving into her writings to really try talking to anyone but this was so out of the blue she was at a loss for words. The contact felt so strange and foreign, out of place almost.

"When did you come back? And why the hell were you in the medical bay with Barricade?" He asked abruptly.

Anna awkwardly sniffled once and turned her gaze up to meet his baby blue eyes.

"Not that long ago and Barricade's….a long story. What did you mean by not taking orders from him anymore?"

Anna was pushing out of his steadying grip on her shoulders with sharp uncertainty. Tyler didn't let her go.

"Wait, it's not what you think."

Not what she thought? In as many novels she's read the lines _"I'm not working for you anymore_" were pretty clear not leaving much to the imagination.

"Oh, yeah? Then tell me fast."

Tyler sucked in a breath and he looked around them…nervously. "I can't explain it out here. Come with me."

His voice had dropped to barely a whisper and he began tugging Anna's hand down the corridor. It was her turn to planet her feet. "Why can't you tell me right here-"

Anna's mind nearly suffered the equivalent of a system crash. Was Tyler possibly not Tyler at all, but another pretender? She had been deceived so many times it would be stupid for her to overlook his hesitance and the strangeness of the situation. Was he talking different? Was he standing different? Was he walking heaver like a machine might?

He must have seen the shock in her eyes and mistook it for fear because he stopped and tried to reassure her. "It's not what you think," he whispered pleadingly again. "Please just come with me and I'll explain everything."

He was anxious, she could tell that much. She wondered if chancing him turning into a raging mini Decepticon on her was worth it…

"What's the last thing we ate together?"

He blinked numbly for half a second. "What? What does that have to do with anything?" he asked with an almost perplexed look.

"Just answer the question."

"Hamburgers on the carrier, why-"

"Ok let's go." Anna began dragging him in the direction he was originally trying to take her. She figured robotic aliens couldn't eat organic food and had no way to access any information to figure out what the last thing they ate was when she knew he was normal.

Tyler took the lead after he recovered from the confusion furrowing his brow and his trek brought them to the barracks. Anna couldn't understand why he felt the need to drag her along by the hand the whole time but didn't ask, she was too concentrated on shying behind him away from all the stares she got from the other soldiers they passed. She had never stopped to talk to any of them and now that she was without a transformer hanging over her every move she didn't want to be seen as an open invitation to approach for any strange questions she was sure were stirring in their minds. What else would they think about a girl who never interacted with the humans on base and sparked electricity like an electric eel?

Unfortunately her paranoia was right, for the moment they entered the hall a rather crazed looking older man approached them, the very same crazy old man from the air craft carrier. Anna sucked in a breath of air and literally shoved Tyler between her and the approaching loon. Tyler looked at her in confusion with his mouth half open to ask her when the infamous rambling old man cut him off.

"Did you already persuade her?" His voice was husky and he walked with a limp in his left leg but he sounded expecting which disturbed her deeply.

Anna immediately went on the defensive. "Persuade me of what?" she snapped, glancing at the man and Tyler in turn with a questioning glare.

"Why the-" he glanced around the empty hall like only an insane old man missing a few brain cells could. "Earth Alliance of course," he whispered.

Earth Alliance sounded like the name of a group that had some kind of Captain Planet fetish.

Anna backed away from both of them. "Start explaining now or I'm calling Ironhide."

It was an idiotic threat, she had no way of contacting him and it sounded lame that she would call on someone else to deal out punishment but the name of her guardian was the first thing to snap in her head. For once she actually wished the overbearing two story bodyguard was with her (even though he looked extremely mad the last time she saw him.)

"She's been with the monsters too long! We might be too late!" The old man began prattling off his ominous and cryptic language.

Anna wondered why he wasn't in some psycho ward and wondered if they had him with a therapist, though something about his words made her believe there was something more relevant to them than he was being coherent about. She turned to Tyler for answers.

"Stop it you old coot. You're just scaring her. Come on Anna."

He didn't exactly answer her question but the fact that Tyler had just labeled the man crazy and walked away as if he were speaking nonsense make her feel marginally better. Maybe he really just wasn't right in the head.

Tyler led her away from the crazy old man and into the back lounge area she was all too familiar with. She wondered why there was never anyone in the room. Tyler shut the door behind him while Anna tried to make herself comfortable on the old gray couch. It was hard not to stare at the blank space Dewbot used to take up.

Tyler took a seat on the plush old chair across from her and ran his fingers through his hair with a huffed sigh. "Ok. I'll tell you how I know Barricade then you tell me likewise."

"Sounds fair," She nodded and crossed her legs leaning before forwards to show she was listening.

Tyler paced twice across the room before settling on standing with one hand on the back rest of the matching recliner facing her.

"Do you ever wonder why the Autobots are here?"

Anna quirked her brow wondering if it were a trick question. "Because they were chasing after the Allspark?"

"Originally, but do you know why they're _still_ here?"

Anna couldn't understand where he was going and wondered when he became such an expert on the subject. "They have nowhere else to go," she wanted to say with firm belief but had been wavering on the idea herself for a while now.

Tyler jabbed his finger towards her. "That's what they _want_ you to think, that they're staying here to protect earth from remaining Decepticons. Not many know this but they're trying to take over our government, corrupt it from the inside out."

Anna held up her hand to make him pause. "Wait. What does this have to do with Barricade?" She did not like it when people skirted around questions with cumbersome amounts of information that evaded the direct point, even if she did think the government was a little quacky.

"He has information that could help us get rid of the Autobots _and_ Decepticons."

Anna uncrossed her sore legs. "What makes you think he has any information? He's a _Decepticon_, I'm pretty positive it's not a coincidence it has the root word Deception in it. How do you know he's not lying to you?"

Anna couldn't believe how firmly he seemed to believe his theory. The idea sounded ludicrous, how could one person, or mech, solely have the information to get rid of one faction or the other, wouldn't they have finished each other off already if they had that sort of information? This smelled too much like the cliché idea in books where the prisoner tries to persuade a gullible captor into helping them while the victim is none the wiser.

Tyler pursed his lips and was silent for a moment. Anna hopped it was a sign that he wasn't as gullible as she was beginning to believe. Perhaps she would have to ask Barricade about it later and see what kind of story he came up with.

"We'll get rid of all of them in the end," he finally said.

"Who is we?" Anna asked skeptically.

He got a buggy look in his eyes and quickly flicked them around the room as if someone were listening it would be the end of him, bringing a hit of craziness to his usually soft eyes.

"The EA of course. We're going to drive all of them off our planet. If we let the transformers stay any longer our world will become their playground."

Anna began picking her short finger nails. "And what is that? Some kind of cult?"

Tyler looked offended. "No, it's a legitimate government group except no one knows about us because we're like sector seven that got disbanded two years ago. We're a secret."

Anna wasn't sure if she could just accept that answer, assuming there had to be an alternative explanation.

"Then why is our government being so kind to them when they could easily make a law forcing them to leave our planet? In my opinion that would be inhumane." Anna couldn't believe she was sitting there defending the Autobots.

Tyler dug his nails into the recliner's head. "Do the Chinese know about the transformers? Do the Russians, Germans, or Japanese know about them?"

Anna started to open her mouth but he cut her off sharply. "No. Only the American government knows about the transformers existence and we're keeping them under wraps here on this island until the time is right."

"Until the time is right? Are you mad?" Anna jumped to her feet and took a step back behind the couch.

Tyler stepped forwards with his palm outwardly stretched. "The government is just biding its time, trying to extract their technology before we find a way to get rid of both factions that are equally as corrupt."

There was no way he was buying that ludicrous idea; she sure wasn't buying one lick of that crap.

"Tyler, I thought you were smart, but that's _nuts_." She concluded and stomped towards the door.

"Anna, wait!" He rushed forwards and grabbed her arm, startling Anna enough that she jumped and swung around to sock him in the nose. She watched in mild fascination as he recoiled holding his sinuses and sputtering in pain.

"_Don't touch me_," she snapped, drawing on Barricades low seething anger that was more than happy to flare up with hers and slammed the door shut behind her before Tyler could recover.

Half way down the hallway she heard him burst from the room, squaring her shoulders and glaring straight ahead she didn't turn to face him as he came running up to her in a panic.

"You have to believe me! Look, I'll bring you to the next meeting! We really want you to help our cause; you have the most inside access."

Anna turned on him then, stopping Tyler right in his tracks. "That's why you're suddenly getting close to me? This is all just a scheme to recruit me for your crazy little cult? Well guess what? I don't like you that way anyway!"

He was completely stunned into silence and Anna didn't wait around to hear his opinion. She turned briskly but was halted by smashing into something more solid than a brick wall causing a yelp of pain and surprise to rip past her vocals. There was an unmistakable unhappy grunt over her head before rock hard arms bulging with muscle effortlessly lifted her through a kaleidoscope of colors before throwing her over their wide shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Hey!" she yelped but was cut off by Ironhide's bouldery voice.

"You have wandered away for the last time and are officially restrained to the brig," he growled.

Tyler was apparently able to find his voice at that moment. "What are you doing to Anna? Put her down!"

"Not likely runt." Ironhide turned around to leave which flipped Anna around to see Tyler's face that was growing red with anger.

"Who are you? I haven't seen your face around here before."

Ironhide didn't grace him with an answer and kept on walking down the hall. Anna wasn't too happy about being in the clutches of her weapon-toting guardian but she welcomed the escape from her deranged _former_ friend enough to keep silent without a struggle. In fact she was feeling suddenly docile and couldn't figure out exactly why. Barricade was still awake but he seemed calmed and amused as if he were actually looking over her shoulder.

"I'm going to call the higher ups and have your ass put in jail if you don't put her down right now!"

Anna heard a soft 'pft' by her ear and could just imagine all the grumbling insults that were being tossed around in the mech's processor behind that small but sharp sound. Probably something along the lines of _'stupid human male' _as that was one of his favorite phrases, she still hadn't figured out why he seemed to hate every human sole except her and Lennox, though even that was debatable at times.

Ironhide stomped out of the barracks in his heavy boots without Tyler following which wasn't much of a surprises seeing as he had a sort of anti people energy radiating off of him whether in mech or holo-form, even in his intimidating huge truck form Anna swore he had a 'keep away from me' vibe.

"Let me guess. Barricade told you where I was," she concluded grudgingly.

"Damn right he did. That Decepticon fragger has more common sense than you," he rumbled in a way that even she could feel vibrating from his frame on her high perch.

"What does he think I'm going to do? Run off and kill myself?"

Ironhide stopped and nearly threw her to the ground but caught her shoulders so Anna was standing face to face his intense electric blue eyes, though she had to look up of course.

"That's _exactly_ what we all think will happen. The Decepticons know about the Allspark and they want you. They will take every advantage they can to capture you and use any means necessary. _That's_ why you're _never_ supposed to be without an Autobot escort," he spat angrily.

Grudgingly, she could see his logic. The pretender had tried to make mince meat of her, but it didn't mean she had to like it. Then a thought occurred to her. "What did y'all do with Galloway?"

Ironhide growled irritably. "Don't try to change the subject."

"No, really. Barricade said he was responsible for the hole drilled in his chest." And something about that man was bugging her conscious now.

Ironhide's brow furrowed into angry creases. "That's nothing for you to worry about."

Anna tried to sharply shrug out his grip but his iron fists were impossible to dislodge from.

"Nothing for me to worry about? He nearly _died _meaning I would have too. I think I have every right to know."

"I can't discuss it with you because Prime ordered me not to," he snapped.

Something deep in her chest clenched even though her mind was fully accepting of the possibility of betrayal from the Autobot leader. She knew he couldn't be trusted, her gut instinct told her that from the very beginning.

"How many other times has he ordered y'all not to tell me something?" she asked darkly.

"Now hold on just a doggone minute. Prime would never withhold information without a good reason."

Anna was about ready to jump up and rip his artificial hair out. "That didn't answer my question. _Ugh,_ never mind!"

She struggled to rip out of grasp but his superhuman strength had her pinned to the spot.

"What has gotten into you? Your behavior is extremely irrational."

She snapped, and with no help from Barricade who seemed to be sitting back and merely observing her emotions. It seemed he was finally able to find his happy medium as well where he could finally tell the difference between her reactions and his own.

"Irrational? This whole situation is irrational! Alien robots and parasitic energy-I have a piece of Barricade's _spark_ inside me!" _I've been invaded and lied to, _she wanted to continue but her vocals were locking up and her anger was drawing her back inside herself. She just wanted to get away and be by herself for a while.

"_As you humans say it, join the club."_

Anna jerked. "What?" The shocked question rattled around in her head like a hallow echo.

Ironhide held her at length and studied her surprised face with an uncanny level of concern. "I believe Ratchet needs to have a look at you."

"There is nothing medically wrong with me!" _I'm not going nuts, am I?_

"_Humans are sparked glitched in the processor."_

"I'm what?"

She heard it that time loud and clear, a grating voice that was so crystal clear it could have been speaking right into her ear.

"Come on I'm taking you to Ratchet."

Ironhide steered her towards the door with little resistance from Anna because she was too bewildered for her mind to catch up to her body. Confusion poured through the 'bond', as Ratchet had so bluntly put it, solely from her and she couldn't help but imagine a mirthful laugh filling up her head, or _was_ she imagining it?

"Hey! Who do you think you are?"

Anna swiveled her head around Ironhide's shoulder to see Sideswipe's approach. Ironhide pretended to not notice the candy apple red youngling which apparently wasn't going to work very well. Sideswipe tried to pick Ironhide up but the hologram swatted him away.

"Get yer' hands off me you slag-for-a-processor."

The Lamborghini effectively backed off with shock in his optics.

"Ironhide? Is that you?"

"Who the frag did you think I was?"

"Yep, that would be good ol' 'Hide."

The hologram growled, "Who are you callin' old?"

"Aren't you both technically old?" Anna finally spoke.

Both of them turned their blue eyes and optics on her.

"What are you talking about femme? I'm still kickin' in my prime," Sideswipe defiantly defended.

"And technically you're still an infant compared to us," a familiar chuckle said.

Anna still wasn't used to seeing Wheeljack in his robot mode, his real body, but she couldn't help thinking he looked drastically different this time around, she never remembered his truck form having any light blue on it.

"Technically I'm an adult now," she countered as the tall mech stepped forwards.

"Technically, but not mentally."

Anna gapped at the hologram and playfully punched his rock hard bicep.

"Three against one isn't fair."

Ironhide chuckled. "How do you humans put it? Oh yes, life's not fair."

Anna was about to retort but Wheeljack was faster.

"By the way Ironhide. What exactly are you doing to my charge?"

The hologram grunted. "She's not your charge."

Wheeljack leaned forwards and Ironhide cut in quickly, "If you have a problem, take it up with Prime. I'm under his orders to guard her."

Even with a mask covering the majority of his face Anna could still recognize the fury behind Wheeljack's optics.

"I raised her like my own sparkling and you have the _gall_ to deny my claim?"

"What?" Sideswipe faintly started.

Ironhide 'humphed' and his hologram abruptly flickered out leaving Anna standing near the entrance of the barracks by herself. Not far away she could hear the song of a transformation and in less than a minute Ironhide was stomping up in his true bipedal form with parts still shifting into place along his arms and legs.

"Wheeljack don't be an ingrate. Or has your time on this planet fried your circuitry? Prime's word is final. If you want the arrangements changed then take it up with him."

Anna couldn't help but think he was being unusually calm and rational. Feeling a bit uncomfortable so close to the tense mechs she began scooting in Sideswipe's direction who was more than happy to meet her halfway. She took his offered hand and seating uneasily on the edge of his palm.

This bodyguard job, guardianship, seemed to be a bigger deal than she had originally thought and felt like staying out of the spat would be the best course of action. She tapped her friends palm drawing his attention. "Hey 'Sides?"

She obviously didn't have to tell him twice or explain further because he began slowly inching away from the two mechs staring each other down, or rather, Wheeljack staring down at Ironhide due to their height differences. Anna could somewhat sympathize with Ironhide's predicament.

Sideswipe slinked around the barracks before breaking out into a jog that jostled Anna up and down in his hand while trying to cling onto a finger.

"Slow-down!" she managed through throws.

He slowed to a walk and gave her a sheepish grin.

"I would hate to be Ironhide right now."

Anna gawked; she couldn't believe he was immediately sympathizing with the hot headed weapon specialist.

"Wheeljack almost never gets angry but when he does its pretty scary," he added.

She let out a dry chuckle. "Don't I know it."

"How do you know Wheeljack? I know he came in on the plane with you and 'Hide but what's up with the rip only the most trigger happy mech's vocal processors out for claiming guardianship? That's not like him."

Anna twirled a strand of hair through her fingers while watching the shifting ground below before combing it out slowly. "He pretty much took the place of my mom when she left. I've known him all my life, I could even tell you his favorite quote from Shakespeare. But I never knew he was a transformer since all I ever saw was his hologram."

"He's your surrogate creator."

His tone wasn't questioning or reproachful like she might have thought such words would be said by, it was a statement that made Anna look up at his optics where _comprehension_ was clearly written across them.

"I guess…" She faded off weakly.

Anna guessed creator was a translation of parent since it was the first time she had heard the term.

"My brother and I lost our creators to the war when we were still sparklings. A couple of mechs here you know took up the job of raising us so to speak, but they're more along the lines of cranky tactics trainers than anything else," he ended with a snort, obviously remembering something Anna could probably never quite imagine.

"Or mechs bent on killing us before we even got to the battlefield," a snarky voice added.

"I said I would only be a minute didn't I?" Sideswipe sighed at his approaching brother.

Sunstreaker had his arms crossed over his chest and he was looking mighty peeved, as usual. "You were taking too slagging long. The humans are frying my wires with their moaning. You've got your pet so let's go."

"I am not a pet!" she yelled sharply.

Sunstreaker led them to a hanger that was literally jammed packed with action. Anna had to blink and make sure she was still on a military base. The overhead lights were out considerably darkening the large space except for the massive sheet that was tied down over the wall, covering almost the entire face, where an obvious game of IMAX proportion Halo was taking place from a small Xbox. A group NEST soldiers in the room cheered while another one booed and shouted threats when one of the players split screens erupted into fire, followed by a confirmed kill.

"I love these human video games!" Skids shouted while whacking his brother in the shoulder for emphasis, the latter could only nod his head while staring almost hypnotically up at the screen with the most morphed and sad drool like expression Anna had ever seen.

The three Arcee's in the room simultaneously scoffed, obviously not impressed, and gracefully began weaving their way out of the hanger on their tricycle like tires they possessed instead of feet.

"Hey where are you going sweet stuff? It's just getting good?"

Mirage laughed after her, earning a sharp punch to the shin as the last one wheeled by.

"Hey what gives?" he asked, rubbing his assaulted armor.

Sunstreaker snorted, "You _elite_ snobs have no idea how to handle a femme."

Anna could have sworn her jaw had just petrified and fallen onto the floor below. Little Miss Sunshine had just called another one of his kind, a 'bot she hardly knew and already didn't particularly like, being the one who started the whole pet name calling no doubt, a snob. Either his ego knew no bounds or by his tone of disgust he didn't like the Porsche with an irritating accent anymore than she did.

"That is completely uncivilized and uncalled for," Mirage replied.

Sunstreaker took a threatening step forwards.

"There you are!" a male voice shouted over a chain of virtual fire. "What took you guys so long?"

Sideswipe seemed happy for the distraction as he bent low towards a NEST soldier who was craning his neck up. He was an average heighted man with brown hair and eyes and a build that was typical for a soldier in peak physical condition. Anna couldn't help but look at his roman like nose that was definitely a prominent feature for him.

"I just had to pick up a little something," Sideswipe said, displaying Anna by unfolding his fingers so she was forced to slide off them. She yelped at the sudden grab of gravity and fell into the soldier's hands that easily caught her.

The soldier gave a sharp whistle as she tried to move her hair out of her face which she immediately regretted because of the heat that rushed to her face. "So you're the lucky one huh? Not surprising since the Autobot's seem to like you so much."

"Take this from a fellow male of a different species. You found a pretty nice one," he said addressing Sideswipe.

Anna nearly felt her cheeks explode. "What? I'm not-I'm not his girlfriend!" she stuttered in horror.

The soldier laughed and pushed her towards her alien friend.

"Could have fooled us! The way you're always hanging out with this guy! He even made us stall the movie to go get you!"

Anna's mind slammed on the breaks and sputtered like an old suburban. All this time she thought the soldiers had been thinking of her as a freak when in reality they thought she was having some relationship with an alien bigger than a house and _laughing_ about it.

"_What the frag is your problem now? You're giving me whiplash human."_

She didn't imagine that.

"_Barricade?" _she tentatively asked in a focused word within her head.

"_Who the frag else would it be."_

Anna physically recoiled at the grating voice that came from nowhere but seemed to be everywhere, like a thought that wasn't her own but as clear as a spoken word if that made any real sense. Now she could talk to him like a telepath, _frag_. What was next? Growing an extra limb?

"It's not _that_ bad." She jerked back to her immediate surroundings. "You don't have to look like we're going to flatten you or anything," the soldier chuckled.

He walked away laughing and to Anna's horror Sideswipe broke out into a guffaw of his own. Apparently the awkwardness and humor of relationships wasn't foreign even to an alien species, though Sideswipe seemed to know more about human customs than any other 'bot, besides Wheeljack of course, making it still questionable.

"That has to be the most disgusting thing I've ever heard." Trust Sunstreaker to voice the negative, except, it wasn't Sunstreaker.

"Lighten up Mirage. Humans just like to make up stories, you can't take everything they say seriously or you'll blow a logic circuit like Prowl did when he first landed," Sideswipe laughed.

That was a quote he had taken straight from Anna's mouth when she was trying to explain human motives to him from what seemed like a life time ago now.

Mirage crossed his arms with a _humph_ and walked out of the hanger, but not without collateral. Sideswipe snickered and Anna had to put a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing at the very large pink outline of a spitting smiley face painted on his back. No doubt a left over from her and Sideswipe's prank on Ironhide, though Sideswipe's attention had always been on her so that only left one mech.

Sunstreaker snickered like an evil plot bunny with a mech sized dripping brush clutched in his hands. "Too bad he didn't stand still longer. I could have made a real master piece besides that crude human sketch."

Anna couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled from her throat and it was quickly followed by Sideswipe now that Mirage was out of ear shot, or audio shot. Though hers felt a bit more manic because she was laughing off her new found, added, connection with the Decepticon.

Wheeljack walked into the dark building like a giant white beacon and swiveled his head around in apparent confusion. Eagerly, she waded her way through the crowd of soldiers who were too busy talking about the game to notice who she was in the dark space and tapped on Wheeljack's foot to get his attention.

"Hey Uncle Jack!" His optics visibly brightened and a smile fully reached them.

Bending over, he offered a hand which she easily took. He brought her up to his chest where she could feel the steady beat of his spark that felt just as real as the heart from his hologram she knew so well.

"It appears the humans are throwing a party."

Anna nodded and laughed when his optics lit up showing he was apparently proud of himself; it took him a long time to learn the difference between a party and a cult gathering, that one was odd and drawn out conversation.

"Apparently they're about to start a movie. Want to stay and watch?"

"Sure! What movie are they showing?"

"Not sure."

Wheeljack liked movies, well he liked just about anything really, Anna swore he had the mentality of a child at times, or at least that's the way he behaved around her most of the time. It wasn't such a bad thing and she partly blamed herself for the way he acted. Without any good friends as a kid Uncle Jack often became her not only her baby sitter but her playmate when she was younger, and literally her best friend, even now.

He skirted along the edges and took a seat towards the back but her view was tremendous from atop his shoulder. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe took a seat next to them and Mudflap and Skids joined them much too every mech's displeasure. Apparently Anna wasn't the only one who hated their very fuel tanks. She made sure to sit on the shoulder that was next to the lambo twins, braving Sunstreaker sounded better than the mousy twins.

Ironically they were showing one of her favorite movies, Terminator 2, Uncle Jack gave her a knowing glance and smiled which she couldn't help but return. This was a movie they had watched several times together because when she was little it was one of her most demanded movies.

The other mechs were equally pleased even though it was an old movie, particularly because it involved a lot of explosions, a robotic-human guardianship which they could relate to, and the robot wasn't portrayed as a completely soulless robot which many of them groaned over about human movies.

She had seen it a million times but now it was somehow different since her perspective of robots had drastically changed. Fantasies about intelligent robots with their own souls were common in her Sci-Fi drafts and an area she liked to dive into. At around age five her dad started to worry when she began naming all of the appliances in the house after seeing an old movie, Wheeljack had only laughed and encouraged her much to her dad's dismay.

Anna used to wish she had her very own terminator because it seemed like the neatest thing in the world to a little kid who was picked on all the time. A big guy who stuck by her side unconditionally who intimidated and drove away everyone that made fun of her for good sounded like a compelling idea.

Did that Xbox just move? Naw, it must have just been a trick of the light, her brain was overtaxed

* * *

**Random author end notes: **I think I just made every guy's dream reading this come true via IMAX size Halo. It's strange how I really like Mirage yet my character tends to hate him.


	28. Chapter 28

**Author note: **I apologize for the lateness of this chapter but what can I say, life happens and I had finals.

Thanks to all of my readers and reviewers!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own transformers.

* * *

Kaden was barking _again,_ honestly no large surprise for a guard dog, but for once Anna wished he would just, excuse her French, _shut up_ so she could get some continuous sleep. Ever since she had touched Barricade's arm to complete the 'circuit' so the Allspark could heal him, she had been feeling like slag. For a while she had been able to blame her soreness and over all tiredness on the cheap bed and rough handling of being flung around like only a small organic can around large alien robots. But now it felt like a cold had settled itself into her limbs creating an impressive headache in its wake.

"Why can't you get this blasted canine to cease function of its vocal cords?" A cranky medic shouted her near exact thoughts.

If there was one thing she learned about Ratchet during her time in the med bay it was he had a secret nickname besides The Hatchet and that would be Captain Obvious. Anna flipped her pillow over her head and pressed her face against the coils she could feel through the mattress. The ear buds to her now working IPod dug into her ears with the pressing fabric and only added to her pounding head. She swore the floor or a nice cold slate of metal would have been more comfortable.

Barricade was right as rain, or about as right as he could get in the brig. The night she had watched a movie with Wheeljack and the two sets of twins he had been taken to the brig and locked up now that he was cleared as 'medically sound'. At the moment the 'con was fairly calm, which was a first. His presence was becoming a constant drone in the back of her mind, much like a constant buzz or ring in her ear which, like a horse with a saddle, eventually forgets that it's even there.

Their telepathic connection hadn't been touched on very much and Anna wasn't about to start exploring with it, as long as he left her alone she would leave him alone. She hadn't told Ratchet or anyone else about the new anomaly and she would like to keep it that way. The less others fussed over her unknown condition the easier it was to let her mind wander to other things and completely forget the present.

Kaden's bark echoed through the room making her groan with annoyance and throbbing pain. There was no way she was going to fall back asleep now so in a flurry of thin sheets she sat up and glared at Ratchet with a full glorious crown of bed head.

"Can I take him outside, _now_?" she growled.

"For Primus' sake! Fine! Just let me call an Autobot down here, I need to finish my work." His exasperation turned to grumbles as he went back to shifting through his giant data pad.

It seemed even the ever impatient and unyielding Hatchet had his limits. True to his word, just as Anna was finishing up her morning routine the medical bay's door opened causing Kaden to bark shrilly and Ratchet to audibly growl.

"Having a few problems doc?" Wheeljack asked with a bright smile of his optics.

Anna opened the cage door a crack and strained against the muscled dog to snap a leash onto his brown collar. She wrapped the looped rope around her hand a couple times before letting him out where his claws clacked frantically against the slick metal. He scratched it trying to find purchase but only managing to slide around with sprawled legs.

"Just get that infernal canine out of here before I blast a hole through its vocals!"

"Over my dead body!" Anna snapped back fiercely.

Ratchet glared at the young woman who was halfway down the stairs already.

"Out!" he barked causing Anna to give him a hard stare.

She let Kaden drag her after Wheeljack as the dog seemed intent on attacking his pedes all the way out onto the tarmac. It was a weekend so thankfully not very many people were milling about allowing her to let Kaden mostly have free rein and sniff whatever he desired. She cared next to nothing when he decided to mark a few building sides and tires. In fact it made her smirk a bit and pat him on the back with a few 'good boy's.

Now that Kaden wasn't caged in a small space he considered Anna was his only territory. So as long as Wheeljack kept a reasonable distance then the mech was safe from snapping jaws though the dog still threw cautious glances up at everyone in the vicinity.

"Never changes, does he? That canine is fiercer than a sparkmate to you," Wheeljack commented.

"Sorry what?" Anna asked through a half daze of imagining angry officials when they found their vehicles marked. She still heard him quite clearly though.

Over eighteen years of with living with Uncle Jack, even as a hologram, he had his slip up moments of saying strange things, all of which she was just now beginning to recognize as cybertronian phrases. Now that she knew their origins she was particularly interested in the real meanings behind them now that they could be openly explained. She had heard Wheeljack comment in passing when her parents were still together that the two of them were sparkmates or sometimes bondmates.

Being the ever bright and knowledge thirsty 'bot he was, Wheeljack was more than happy to explain. "Sparkmates are two transformers that have what you humans would call marriage but it's quite different and much more complex. For one, it's a permanent bonding with no way of being reversed once it's done like what your parents did. Two transformers will bind their sparks together until they beat as a single unit and literally become two parts of a whole, essentially sharing their existence with each other in a bond stronger than anything else in this universe."

It sounded a bit cliché and an answer to every woman's dream but Anna couldn't help the icy rock she felt sinking into her gut. Anna had to stop where she was much to Kaden's displeasure who kept trying to tug her toward an increasingly interesting looking gray Hummer tire.

"Is that like, what I have with Barricade?"

Wheeljack stopped also and Anna didn't miss the look of sheer horror on his face.

"I-that. Pit no! That Decepticon might have implanted a shred of his spark in you but that doesn't mean you're bonded! It's not your spark Anna, your…essence is still your own. But, I swear on my spark that I will do everything I can to find a way to safely extract the abomination from your frame."

She was stunned at how strongly his words came and could see the sheer determination in his optics. It warmed her with relief like warm blanket on a long cold night to hear someone pledging so full heartedly that they would try to help her through the mess. He was the first one to offer any kind of sincere help or comfort and that meant more to her than he would ever know.

She gave him a slight smile. "Thank you Uncle Jack."

Being outside and just walking around with Wheeljack was doing wonders to her body and mind. The hot sun which had few clouds to compete with felt nice against her skin and helped clear her head a bit. Kaden was also looking thoroughly happy with himself. His massive longue lulled far out of his mouth and his anxious pace was slowing down to a comfortable trot with calm sniffs in between.

Every now and then Anna could peak the blue ocean out from between the fence and natural curve of the land. She found herself wanting to put on a swimsuit and dive in but she knew there was a fat chance of that ever happening.

"So where have you been all this time?" she asked out of the blue.

Wheeljack had no trouble picking up her question. "I had to report to Prime and update him on the last fifty years then he gave me a full diagnostic of the last two years. I still can't believe I never knew they were here. Even Megatron had been on this planet, I should have been there to help them!" he said angrily. Anna glanced up at him with concern. She couldn't even imagine would it would be like to be completely ignorant that her friends were within reach after over fifty years of being separated from her own species.

She felt a hot rush from his vents as he quickly steadied himself. "I'm sorry I haven't been able to spend very much time with you," he said sincerely.

Anna gave a short laugh. "No biggy. I was just wondering. Did you get a new paint job?"

Wheeljack gave a subtle twitch and used a human habit he had picked up a long time ago by rubbing the back of his head creating a slight grating noise.

"It can't be that bad." Anna teased.

"Don't be mad but the government thought it would be better if I changed my alt form and Prime agreed. I know you really like trucks but I kind of went for a different model. I can change it if you don't like it."

Anna couldn't believe he was so flustered and gave him a broad smile. He was a living being so she couldn't say she owned him, if he wanted to change his alt mode he was more than welcome to do so.

"Don't be ridiculous. Can I see what you chose?"

"We'll…Promise you won't laugh?"

Anna gave him an incredulous look and wondered if he would turn into a smart car or a minivan, but she couldn't see his girth fitting into something like that.

Kaden jumped in surprise and barked sharply Wheeljack's parts began to shift and he folded forwards with glossy white plating moving in over exposed wires. Anna had to drag the Doberman forwards to admire Wheeljack's new alternate mode with an audible gasp.

"Wow Jack. What made you think I wouldn't like this? I personally think it fits you pretty well. A lot better than a truck actually," she grinned.

He had transformed into a white Audi R8. Anna touched a silver Autobot symbol that was just above his front tire and noted that it was the first time he really displayed his faction in plain sight.

"You really think so?" he asked from outside speakers she couldn't see.

"Heck yes! I love it!"

Kaden walked up and sniffed the tire then began turning on his side.

"Kaden, bad dog. Don't mark Uncle Jack." She scolded and yanked him back before the damage could be done.

Wheeljack laughed full heartedly as the dog sneezed against the sudden yank.

"So this is where you've been."

Anna's heart chocked for a second before speeding up. Approaching them like an ant crawling out of the woodwork was none other than John, her mom's insane husband. How had she not noticed his approach?

"Where I've been is none of your business. What do you want?"

Kaden let out a warning snarl displaying an impressive show of fang that mirrored Anna's exact thoughts. John wisely kept his distance and eyed the Doberman with a wary glance of reproach.

"Now don't be like that. I came to apologize."

Anna eyed him carefully. "What makes you think I would believe you?"

He dropped his eyes and stared at Wheeljack with interest.

"I was in a panic and I wasn't thinking right."

"Damn straight you weren't," she snapped, feeling her previous mood returning.

He met her eyes again. "You're mother wouldn't like you using that kind of language."

"Don't start treating me like a child and _certainly_ don't start acting like you're my parent because you're not!"

He shifted his eyes again and stared at a building in the distance.

"We'll I did marry your mother."

"But I wasn't in any part of that package. I was living with my dad. I don't have any association with you."

"It's true we never got to spend any time together and I'm sorry for that. I want to make it up to you say, over a cup of coffee? Maybe some pizza?"

John took a step forwards with a gestured outstretched hand and Anna took a step back towards Wheeljack until her leg hit his front bumper.

"Don't start acting like you know me," she warned.

John let out a long sigh that was barely heard over Kaden's sharp bark. "Look. I know those robots have been manipulating you, especially that white and black one. I want to help you out. The EA really want you it's just…"

Anna would have literally jumped his throat if it wouldn't have landed her in jail, speaking of; she wondered why _John_ wasn't in jail. "The EA? Did Tyler set you up to this?"

He looked immediately confused. "Who's Tyler?"

Wheeljack's powerful engine roared startling both of them and sent Kaden off with an alarmed series of barks and snarls that drew the attention of several passer-byes down the tarmac. Anna would have tried to quiet the Doberman but she knew nothing would get him to stop once he was riled up.

The distracted soldiers immediately scrambled when a massive black topkick blew its impressive horn and easily made a clear path for itself towards them. John started like a mouse and began running away from the oncoming truck but it swerved around in front of him and cut off his escape.

Ironhide transformed so close to the small man that John had to dance around to avoid being squashed by a heavy foot and a smashing arm as his body unfolded. When Ironhide's head came into view his optics were such a light blue they were almost white. He rolled his cannons forwards with a subtle whirr of mechanics as they began to turn and glow with blue and orange.

"Where do you think you're going human?" he ground out dangerously.

"I-Well I-uh," John stuttered.

"Out with it!"

Anna's shoulders twitched in a subtle jump at the ferocity in each of Ironhide's words. Normally she wouldn't be worried but this time he really did look like he would kill John, which she was all for, but it would probably land him permanently in the brig.

Wheeljack backed out from under her to a safe distance and transformed which drew John's wide-eyed attention but didn't even make Ironhide twitch.

"Ironhide don't. You'll regret it trust me," Wheeljack tried to coax before his parts had even finished aligning under his shifting plating.

The weapon-toting mech tensed his shoulders and growled, "He tried to offline Annabelle. I want to know why the humans are just letting him run around and why he's within a hundred feet of my charge."

Anna rubbed her bruised and still sore neck on instinct and watched Wheeljack cautiously approach the furious soldier.

A powerful engine rattled with the deafening rumble of a diesel that caused Anna's heart rate to spike and pull in conflicting directions. Optimus Prime drove at a normal speed towards them until he came to a hissing stop and transformed to his impressive height. Instead of barking his fool head off, Kaden feel silent and Anna could visibly see the hackles on his neck rise.

"Ironhide what is the meaning of this?" the leader asked in his aged and commanding voice that made Anna shiver.

Optimus had said the Allspark reacted to the matrix in his chest which she could certainly tell by the negative tug of Barricade's spark both in her and across the bond but she wasn't sure that completely explained her strange phobia. It was also like her instincts were coiling against his presence telling her to watch him for any unnatural behavior like the way she would feel when seeing a cheery politician or a strange man walking calmly on the streets who did nothing but send all of her internal alarms blaring. Something in her screamed to simply watch out and not completely turn her back.

"This glitch should be in the brig." For emphasis Ironhide shoved his cannons closer to John's face.

"Stand down," Optimus ordered sharply.

The weapon specialist growled, never deviating from his aggressive posture, even as he reluctantly turned off his cannons and rolled them back into place.

"Optimus, this is Annabelle's step-father and he attacked her on our return flight. We want to know why he's not in human custody," Wheeljack quickly explained with a clipped tone.

The Autobot leader glanced down at the cowering man then looked sternly at Anna.

"Can you confirm Wheeljack's claim?"

She nodded cautiously.

Optimus took a couple long strides forwards which Ironhide respectfully stepped back from to allow the leader full access to John. Normally Optimus would kneel when speaking to a human but this time he remained standing at his full thirty and a half feet. "Sir, what is your name?"

"J-John," he nearly choked.

"John. You need to come with me so we can sort this issue out with your human officials. You as well, Annabelle Swift."

Anna felt a rock plummet to the bottom of her stomach. "Me?"

Optimus gave her a curt nod, "If you wish to testify against him you need to be present."

She chewed her lip for a second but finally said, "Ok."

Optimus transformed, startling John, and popped open his passenger door for the man to get in.

Anna heard Wheeljack's hydraulics hiss as he leaned down and she turned around to his confront close face with her own pleading eyes.

"It'll be ok. I'm right behind you."

He extended a finger and pushed her gently towards Optimus who was idling patiently a few feet away. Anna felt another rock fall through her intestines. She was going to have to sit in his cab.

Anna walked around Wheeljack, pulling Kaden along, and tied his leash to the chain link fence. She couldn't very well let him hop into Optimus Prime and this way she would have an excuse to leave early.

"You be good," she quietly told him then as if she were walking on a bed of hot coals she cautiously approached the flamed semi and looked up into his cab where John was seated and staring down at her. Wasn't it a bit dumb to place her in a small space with the man who wanted to kill her?

She sucked in her fears and jumped into tall truck while John scooted over to the driver's side. Optimus' door shut by itself and Wheeljack and Ironhide transformed into their vehicular modes to follow as their leader began rolling forwards.

Anna sat straight as a board against the unnaturally plush leather seating and could only focus on the hammering of her heart. She wanted nothing more than to bolt right out of the moving alien vehicle that looked so normal on the inside. Well it would have looked normal if it weren't for all of the custom chrome and painting that matched his exterior. She found it odd that the way he decorated himself would suggest a rowdy individual who drove fast and made rude gestures at passer-byes.

"_What is wrong with you, human?"_

Anna twitched in a near jump as Barricade's irritated voice growled through her subconscious. It seemed her "dysfunctional emoticons" as Barricade called them, had finally gotten on his last nerve.

Concentrating her thoughts to focus words she replied, _"Optimus freaks me out," _she said truthfully.

Barricade made a barking laugh and Anna could feel the pure amusement behind it. _"I thought all you humans bowed down to his feet."_

"_Hey, don't clump me with 'other humans'," _she snapped automatically.

"_Yet you are still a human."_

"_Do you want me to start calling you an Autobot?"_

"_Don't you even dare try to compare me with those pit-spawned glitches," he snapped sharply._

"_All right...Touché,"_ she unintentionally added.

"_Don't think I didn't hear that."_

Anna had the strangest urge to stick her tongue out at him but she knew it would only make her look like a fool in the silence of the cab which oddly didn't feel so oppressive anymore.

Optimus slowed his speed and turned into a hanger which was sparsely populated by a few maintenance crews and conversing higher ups. He parked in the middle of the concrete floor and opened his massive doors in what Anna took as a silent command to get out. She hopped to the ground just her two guardians pulled in and both of them immediately began transforming with Optimus soon following after John warily made his way to the edge of the room.

Anna shot the timid man a cautious glance, wondering if he was about to bolt out of the room, it would serve the coward right.

"Optimus? What can I do for you?" Lennox' familiar voice echoed about the room as he trailed down the cat walk to come closer to the shifting Autobots.

"It appears we have a security problem," Optimus replied, his head still towering five feet above the human.

Lennox furrowed his brows, "Decepticons?"

The extraterrestrial leader shook his head, "I'm afraid not. This man had been accused of attacking Annabelle swift and his presence is stirring problems with my Autobots." He flicked his brilliant optics down to John who froze against the wall as if pinned by the gaze.

Lennox scrutinized the man from his perch and tried to make out his facial features from so far away.

"I put him in the brig a few days ago. The soldiers who brought him in said he was dangerous and he had been belligerent towards me. There's no reason why he should be freely roaming the base. I never heard of him attacking anyone though. Is Anna here?"

Optimus gave a curt nod and bent down to extend a hand towards the young woman. She hesitated but climbed into his large palm which made an uncomfortable jolt race through her nerves making her entire body twitch. The rush she felt while being lifted thirty feet in the air made butterflies flutter through her stomach but it was over quickly when he held his palm over the cat walk. Anna jumped out of his palm as quickly as she was able and Lennox barely had time to catch her to prevent her from face planting on the ground below.

"Slow down there cowgirl," Lennox said lightly which made Anna blush for making herself look like a fool.

"Look at me girl. I need you to tell me everything you know about this man," he said suddenly serious.

Anna sucked in a deep breath then said, "He's my step-dad who's a coward, total jerk, and he tried to strangle me to death on the plane ride back up here. And I think he's joined the whacked out EA group you have running around here."

Will shot the frozen man several stories below a glare then turned his attentions back on Anna.

"What is the EA group?"

Anna blinked, surly he would have known about the vocal group that had tried to recruit her twice already. "They're some group who claims to be a part of the government who thinks the Decepticons _and _Autobots should leave our planet."

Lennox frowned. "Where did you hear about them?"

Anna crossed her arms protectively over her chest. "Two of their members have already tried recruiting me for unknown reasons even though I keep turning them down."

"And they are on the base? Who's a part of it?"

She pointed down at John. "I think he's in it. I know Tyler's is. And that stupid delusional old man who in my opinion should be locked away in a psycho ward."

"Old man?" he asked in confusion.

Anna grimaced, "The nuts old guy that was on the carrier who calls the transformers monsters. I don't know his name."

Lennox crossed his arms and looked to the impressive leader. "Optimus? Would you be so kind and bring _John_ up here as well."

Optimus obliged by bending down and presenting his palm to the silent middle aged man. John stared at the appendage like it was about to swallow him up and pressed closer into the wall as if hopping to phase through it.

"Don't be afraid," Optimus gently coaxed.

John shook his head and scooted a foot to the right.

"You down there! Comply with Optimus or you will be automatically seen as guilty and be sent to the brig!" Lennox' harsh demand seemed to do the trick because John promptly scampered into the palm. An unmanly yip escaped his throat when Optimus lifted him to the catwalk and the Autobot leader not so carefully dumped the man in front of Lennox and Anna.

"You have some explaining to do bud. First of all, tell me the truth. Did you attack Anna with the intention of harming her?" Lennox quickly laid out.

"N-no."

"Liar!" both Wheeljack and Ironhide interjected.

"I watched him pounce Anna and try to crush her trachea!" Wheeljack clipped with his optics flickering an icy blue.

"This questioning is unnecessary. Let me terminate the varmint now," Ironhide growled while rolling his cannons forwards.

Optimus responded sharply, "Stand _down_, Ironhide. What is with you? You know we don't harm humans."

The weapon-toting guardian '_humphed_' and disengaged his plasma cannons.

Lennox frowned and marched up to John, forcing the startled man to stumble backwards until he hit the railing and Lennox grabbed aholt of his shirt, jerking the man upwards to be inches from his face.

"You listen to me and you listen good. You are going to tell me the truth or so help me I will let Ironhide blast your ass all the way to Beijing."

John couldn't nod in fear of cracking heads with the Major and he didn't answer either but a thick trickle of sweat was starting to run down his forehead.

"Why did you attack Anna?" Lennox demanded with an air of authority Anna hadn't seen from him before.

"S-she's a crazy ass bitch that's why!"

There was movement from the transformers and deafening rev of engines but Lennox didn't deviate his intense blue eyes and pushed the man harder into the railing for emphasis. "What is the EA?"

"The Earth Alliance!" John shouted angrily.

"_And_?"

"And they want to get rid of the Autobots!"

"They're on the base correct? Who is the ring leader?"

"Galloway!"

There was a pregnant pause in the room save for John's heavy breathing. Lennox backed off only a little but his grip tightened on the small fuming man.

"I'll personally take this man to his new quarters. Optimus, I'm calling an officers meeting at 17:00 hours and I would appreciate it if you would attend."

"I will be there Major Lennox. You can count on it."

Will nodded and began dragging John tightly by his arm.

"Where are you taking me? You can't do this!" John tried digging his heals into the metal but Will merely shoved him forwards causing the man to stumble.

"Be quiet!" Will snapped.

Anna watched them go and only minutely realized she was gripping the railing with white knuckles. Galloway, the one who brutally tried to tear open Barricade's chest just to get at his spark, was at the head of the EA group. He was the guy who made Tyler delusional, let the crazy old man loose, and fed John's lunatic side.

"Anna, come on lets go get Kaden."

She looked at the large waiting hand of Wheeljack and looked past him to Ironhide who was staring intently after the two disappeared men.

"Ok." She climbed into his offered hand and he curled his fingers around her dangling legs and lifted her all the way to his warm chest.

"I knew that human was trouble from the start," Ironhide stated.

Wheeljack tilted his head to see the mech behind him. "John?"

Ironhide took a step towards the hanger door and Wheeljack followed. "Galloway," the weapon-toting mech corrected. "Lennox often told me how he didn't trust the new liaison. I didn't like him either."

"I see," Wheeljack said mildly and stepped out of the hanger with Anna still cradled close to his spark chamber.

Anna couldn't believe how people seemed to be gravitating towards this man so strongly, or rather the group he had created. But when she thought about it it only seemed natural for some people to fear and completely hate all transformers, they were aliens after all. Anna nearly felt like a hypocrite calling the group insane because didn't she feel exactly the same way they did? Just maybe not in the same extreme as sounding brainwashed and believing every rumor spoon fed to her.

"Look, Kaden missed you," Wheeljack announced making Ironhide grimace.

Wheeljack lowered Anna to the ground and allowed her to slide off his palm a few feet in front of her frantically barking Doberman who was wagging his stump of a tail in greeting. She pet his smooth head warmed by the costal sun and received an attacking tongue bath until she pulled away to untie his leash from the fence.

"Say. Do either of y'all know where I could find a phone?"

Wheeljack's fins quickly lit up. "I'm sure we could find one. Who do you plan on calling?"

Anna looped the leash around her hand a couple times for better grip and looked up at her Uncle Jack. "I just think mom should get an update on what's going on. I mean we kind of left her hanging in the wind."

"I know where to find one."

Ironhide surprised her by stepping forwards and transforming then opening his door in wait. Anna got in without hesitation, Kaden jumping in behind her, and seated herself in the black interior she found strangely welcoming. He took off down the tarmac with Wheeljack transforming on the move behind them. Apparently she was going to be stuck with both of her guardians for the rest of the day; at least they weren't fighting, yet.

They maneuvered around the scant groups of people with relative ease seeing as the day was going fairly slow and not much work was being done. A couple groups were drilling while others moved a few crates from trucks into buildings but for the most part the tarmac was empty. Most people opted to stay inside where it was less than a hundred degrees.

Ironhide parked next to a relatively small building labeled as simply 'Mail' that Anna hadn't been in before. She opened Ironhide's door and waited for Kaden to jump out before doing the same. Ironhide transformed and rolled his shoulders as if they were stiff. "There's a phone inside. Just ask whoever's on duty for it."

"How did you know where a phone was?" Wheeljack asked after transforming.

"Lennox uses it often to call his family unit," Ironhide answered easily.

"Thanks 'Hide. I won't take long," Anna said with a wave and walked inside with Kaden trailing close to her leg.

The building was one story and the moment she stepped through the entrance she was greeted with a gray room dominated by a small desk. Behind it a middle aged man was leaned back comfortably in his chair with both feet propped on the desk while reading a newspaper. When the door snapped shut behind her the man casually peeked his eyes over the newspaper. He eased his feet onto the ground and folded his paper neatly before placing it on the desk in front of him.

"What can I do for you young lady?" he asked good-naturedly and only gave Kaden a passing glance.

"I was told you had a phone here."

"Of course I do. Just down that hallway to the right. There are instructions posted on the wall but if you need any help don't be afraid to ask."

She was surprised how mellow and civil he seemed even though she had a guard dog bumping against her legs. It was nice to have a conversation with a normal person who for once wasn't all high strung.

"Thank you," said appropriately and led Kaden down the hallway.

The building was quite save for Kaden's clicking claws and Anna blew a large sigh into the air before yawning. She really wasn't feeling up to par and since it was getting later in the day and her heightened fatigue was dragging her down a bit more than usual. The hallway was lined with a few cubby holes made for moderate privacy and each one had a phone in it. She stopped at the last one and looped Kaden's leash over the edge of the cubical. It wouldn't really hold him if something set him off but it might be enough to trick his dog mind into thinking she still had control of him and thus he wouldn't try wandering off.

As promised there were directions posted inside the cubby's back wall that told her how to use the satellite phone. It was blocky and not something she was used to but after a minute she had it down pat and the phone was ringing in an attempt to locate her mom's cell phone. The hailed older woman picked up after the fifth ring.

"If this is a solicitor you can just take whatever you're selling and shove it back down your throat."

Anna snorted, "Really nice mom."

"Annabelle is that you? Oh my gosh I'm so sorry."

"It's fine. I know this thing probably doesn't have a recognizable I.D."

"How are you feeling? What did the doctor say?"

Anna quietly sighed before saying, "I'll live. Not glowing or anything but I don't know when I can come home."

"Are you sure? You sound a little horse."

Anna couldn't help but touch her neck. "It's probably just the reception. Calls drop like crazy here."

"Oh, well, the random gunner was never found though the police are still trying to investigate. When can you and John come home? Your computer and raggedy old wolf are waiting for you," she teased.

"Mom," Anna groaned. "I told you I don't know. But there's something you might want to know about John."

"What did that man do now? Not that he ever does much in the first place."

_Harsh_, Anna thought, but couldn't help a temporarily smile anyways.

"He kinda, sorta, tried to choke me to death and I think he's officially lost it."

There was a short unnerving silence on the other end before the inevitable explosion. "He what? He choked you? This better not be a dramatization or a prank young lady."

Anna sucked in another breath, "No, he literally got pissed, jumped me, and tried to friggin strangle me to death. He's locked up in the brig right now because of it."

"John did that? But he-wait until I get my hands on him! Are you ok? I'll divorce his ass if there's one mark-"

"I'm fine! I told you that already. Besides, Uncle Jack is here," Anna cut her off.

There was a heavy drawn out sigh on the other end as her mom tried to compose herself. "Ok. Fine. Let me know when you're coming back and if he tries to lay one hand on you-"

"I'll let you know, don't worry."

"I love you sweetie you know that right?"

Anna could have choked with surprise if she had been drinking something. "Yeah, love you too mom."

"Call me again if you can."

"I will," Anna assured.

"Love ya."

"You too."

Anna hung up the phone and put it back into place with a deep sigh. It was going to be _tons_ of fun trying to get her life back together whenever she went home, if she could ever get that far. Kaden, who had been comfortably lying at her feet, lifted his head up and growled softly. Anna turned her head and scowled at the young adult she recognized approaching from the other end of the hall.

"Anna! There you are!"

Tyler quickened his pace causing Kaden to bolt into a standing position with an aggressive bark.

"What do you want?" she deadpanned but could feel her heart rate increasing uncomfortably.

Tyler stopped just short of being bit when Anna scrambled to catch Kaden's leash as he attempted to tackle the seemingly aggressive human approaching his master. "You have to get out of here! The EA's been found out and the place is going to blow!"

"What?" she snapped.

"The Autobots found out about the EA sooner than we thought they would so we have no choice but to put our plan into action _now_. You have to come with me!"

He stepped forwards with an outstretched hand in an attempt to grab her but Kaden leapt up with a snap of his jaws causing Tyler to jerk back.

"You're going to blow up the base?" She asked with widened eyes.

"We don't have a lot of time! You have to come with me to the safe room!"

"Are you nuts?" She barked and backed away from his advance, only to bump into the wall. She was trapped.

"Hey what's going on back there?" the older man's voice from the front desk floated from the main room.

"Come on!" Tyler said frantically.

He lunged forwards to grab her but Kaden yanked out of her grip and jumped on Tyler with a feral snarl. Kaden's jaws clamped around the extended arm, puncturing the skin easily, and his powerful spring sent the brown haired man flat on his back with a startled cry of pain. Anna pressed herself closer to the wall as her Doberman grappled with her former friend in a frenzy that she knew would end in a dead human if she let it continue. His jaws came down among the flurry of limbs, painfully tearing flesh until Anna heard a snap and a yowl of pain from Tyler.

She panicked and felt her heart flutter unnaturally through her anxiety and Barricade's voice filled her head at a highly unwelcome moment. _"Human! If there isn't something seriously wrong with you then I'm going to tear your fragging-"_

"_Shut up! Shit!" _she screeched frantically at him and at the same time to no one in particular.

There was a loud _bang _and a pained yelp from Kaden that made her heart freeze and her ears ring. She watched the dog her dad had given to her as a puppy fall limp over Tyler's harshly breathing chest and felt her insides clench. He pushed the Doberman off his mauled body with his good arm that held a handgun pointed straight at the ceiling then used it to cradle his limp and mangled left arm.

"Kaden! You fucking bastard!" she cried out in rage and lunged at him.

Tears were already streaming down her face as she tried to grapple the hand that held the pistol in an attempt to take control of it. Tyler swung his arm around in an attempt to block her then used the momentum to knock her back and onto the still body of her deceased companion.

"Damn you!" she screeched in a torrent of furry and tried to attack him again.

Tyler had just barely enough time to stumble to his feet and yell, "Wait!" before there was a massive tremble of the ground that knocked him over. Anna stumbled but managed to latch onto him and once again tried to wrestle for the gun. She grabbed at his arm which was aimed behind his head while trying to reach over his body for it, making sure to kick every inch of him she could. His trigger finger slipped twice releasing two more deafening shots down the narrow hall.

There was loud crash like a wrecking ball behind her as concrete flew but she didn't pay any attention in her mad struggle for the gun but it made Tyler look. It was just the leverage she needed to knee him in the stomach and twist the weapon out of his hand. Tyler gagged in a spasm that made his grip momentarily weak and in the next second he found his own gun pointed straight at his face.

She pulled the trigger and he forced his eyes shut but nothing happened beyond a dead click. Anna screamed in frustration and thought about bashing his head in with a pistol whip but instead threw the useless gun against the wall with every bit of energy she had. Blue energy crackled around the gun lying on the floor making it shiver before the firearm transformed into a miniature transformer with blood red optics.

"Why!" she yelled at Tyler through a blinding curtain of tears.

He opened his mouth but only a yell of surprise ripped through it as a metal fist slammed through the roof and onto ground just above his head in a shower of crumbling concrete. Anna scrambled back automatically and that's when she saw the miniature transformer chattering incoherently as it aimed its arm at her which was a barrel of a gun. Her eyes widened when a large white metal hand smashed through the wall behind her, unknowingly crushing the new born transformer, and disappeared back outside.

She leapt up and dashed for the impressive hole, stumbling over the ruble, and fell into a pair of waiting palms that scooped her up. The owner encased her and brought her up so fast a wave of nausea washed over her and her bowls threatened to purge themselves.

The hands spread apart just enough to leave her cupped between them and the owner's chest and she could see Wheeljack's frantic face looking down at her.

"Annabelle! Are you alright? Speak to me!"

A sob ripped through her throat and she clutched at his chest armor as she cried with uncontrollable tremors wracking through her body. She felt his fingers around her tighten and shift until he was able to stroke his thumb down her back. Wheeljack tried using the conventional human sounds of comfort but he quickly fell into a strange chorus of clicks and warbles that seemed to work better on her as a deep part of her subconscious recognized the sounds.

Her sobs became less and the adrenaline began ware off until all she could do was press herself into his armor while she shook with a wave of fatigue like she had never felt before. Her furry had blown away like a flame snuffed by the wind leaving her with nothing but nerve shattering fear. In the absence of her blind rage she could _feel_ Barricade's spark beating hotly against her heart in its own rhythm and the 'con radiated a fierce anger that threatened to swallow her whole.

"Quit moving you fragger or I'll blast your head off!" Ironhide roared from his crouched position over the nearly decimated Mail building.

There were soldiers running all around the ground fully armed and shouting at each other.

"Get a medic over here!"

"Someone get Major Lennox!"

"Hey! There's a dead dog in here too!"

Wheeljack flinched but the movement was subtle.

"Jack!" Anna gasped out making her robotic guardian jerk his head downwards.

"What is it?" he asked quickly.

"The EA," she hastily swallowed the collecting fluid in her throat and continued, "is going to blow up the base! I don't know how but we have to stop it!"

His optics flickered and he jolted his head up. "Ironhide! Watch out for explosives!"

* * *

_~The Brig~_

Prowl was leaning against the concrete walls of the brig with his arms crossed over his chest and a scowl etched into his denta plates. His optics were dimmed as he stared blankly at the floor but he was still very much online.

Barricade kept one optic on him at all times despite the Autobot's placid position and sat as close to the wall as his door panels would allow. They had been at this for the past few joors which he had to admit was an improvement from nearly a solar cycle before. The Military Strategist had tried time and time again to grill Megatron's whereabouts out of him with that audio grating monotone voice of his. After a slew of insults Barricade found the best way to shut the Autobot up was to not say anything at all.

Everything about the tactician mocked him from the way he glared at him down to his very alt mode. If he could, Barricade would have ripped his spark out and been done with it.

It didn't help that the insufferable human that possessed a fragment of his spark had a glitched emotional processor. He tried to ignore the insect's torrent of mood changes but at times it was near impossible. He had degraded himself to snapping at her through their hardly touched telepathic link a few times just to try and salvage some of his sanity. As soon as he got out of this pit he would find a way to extract his spark from the human and then kill it. Oh how he longed for that day.

Speaking of the glitch, the human's emotions spiked with terror. Barricade was quick to pass it off as the human becoming startled by something menial again but the fear didn't ebb, it grew and grew until his own spark was quickening in response. He growled.

Prowl snapped his head up and gave Barricade a hard stare, noting the stiffening of his posture.

Her anxiety reached its peak and Barricade internally snarled to set her straight for being terrified of nothing. _"Human! If there isn't something seriously wrong with you then I'm going to tear your fragging-"_

"_Shut up! Shit!" _

Her frantic yell echoed in his head like a stabbing pain and Barricade jolted upright to clutch his processor.

"Are you malfunctioning?" the tactician asked in seemingly unconcerned monotone.

"To the _pit_ with you," the 'con snarled.

Prowl didn't even flinch but quickly flicked his comm. on to radio Ratchet.

Suddenly, through the fear, rage washed over the human's emotions like a blinding tsunami until it echoed all around Barricade like a waterfall. It threatened to spill over into him like a storm surge and sweep his own emotions into the same raging waters she was experiencing. Never had he felt a rage like this. It was bordering on agonizing. In fact his spark that was in her was throbbing with pain and he could feel it like a thousand energon knives piercing through his chest. The human had to be dying, something was attacking it and that meant he would parish too. No, he couldn't let that happen!

His battle program struggled to over ride the Autobot's firewall giving the 'con a worse processor ache and only fueled his anger. He was trapped, cornered, unable to defend himself without his battle computer. Fury was the only thing he could fall back on.

Barricade leapt to his pedes with a feral snarl and dug his claws into the wall next to him causing the bomb shelter thick concrete to crumble. "Let me out Autobot!"

Prowl's battle systems jumped into action and the SIC watched the suddenly enraged 'con carefully.

Barricade felt his spark calling out to his other half. He desperately wanted to tear apart whatever was attacking the human, the human that possessed a piece of him. He couldn't let anything touch her.

The blinding rage she was emitting suddenly vanished as if it had never been there. It simply melted away until her stolen spark was wavering with terror as if threatening to snuff out. Barricade's anger however was far from subsided after being riled so forcefully. He couldn't control the snarl that ripped from his vocals as his own spark tried to claw its way through their thread thin link to reach its other half. It wanted to swallow her; he wanted to rip something to shreds.

Prowl tried to hail Optimus when the Decepticon grew increasingly hostile. Barricade was unstable and growing angrier by the minute without provocation. The tactition knew he would need back up to subdue the 'con if he escaped.

Optimus never picked up. Instead the white Charger received an emergency message that ordered everyone to be on immediate alert for any kind of explosive. Prowl had hardly finished reading it when the very walls of the underground brig shook with powerful tremors causing the lights to cease function, dousing the room in blackness, and deactivating the glowing security bars.


	29. Chapter 29

**Disclaimer: **I do not own transformers

**Author's note:** I'm not dead, I promise. Plot bunnies grabbed aholt of me and dragged my mind into a vat of ideas that I've been trying to sort through ever since (expect several new stories to pop up fairly soon). Plus school is always a killer and I was having a mild case of writers block with Mockingjay (3rd & final book to The Hunger Games) keeping me occupied…and other interesting reads. But those are all excuses; so without further ado here is chapter 29!

A special thanks to all of my readers and reviewers because you're part of what makes writing worth it.

**Warning: **elaborative gore and destruction!

* * *

For a long moment, Anna thought she had died. The silence was deafening and the surrounding darkness was suffocating. Her breaths came short and ragged; her already exhausted body was trying fruitlessly to pump more adrenaline into her systems that just wasn't there anymore. Her skirmish with Tyler had drained all of her reserves leaving her simply rigid with fear.

Pandemonium had ensued after Wheeljack's warning of an explosive. The base immediately went up in a storm of shouts and emergency alarms ordering an evacuation of the base. Only a few short, terrifying minutes went by before the first explosion went off destroying a hanger at the far end of the base. More followed in quick succession until every building was erupting in skyward fireballs that pierced through the intense rays of the setting sun.

Shouts of surprise and panic were drowned out by the deafening blasts that echoed across the base and shook through their ribcages like popping fireworks. Anna could only clutch at Wheeljack's chest plate and watch in horror as the rapid explosions grew closer. The avid scientist had been more proactive. Instead of standing still as a statue and waiting for the inevitable heat that was searing around them, Wheeljack had crouched to the ground. It was a lightning fast move that caged Anna in his hands which he pinned under his "stomach" as he doubled over for his back to take the brunt of heat and flying shrapnel.

Now after several minutes of tense silence that felt more like a lifetime, the severely uncomfortable position Anna was twisted into was making her more agitated by the second. Her back was arched with an arm pinned under her stomach and her legs were screaming at her to move them. The only thing that prevented her from leaving the safety of her metal cocoon was the fear of what was outside and the fact that she couldn't move Wheeljack's hands no matter how much strength she pushed into her limbs.

He ears were ringing even worse than after her first rock concert and her body she wanted to will into a calmer state wasn't listening. Uncontrollably, she was shaking like a young frightened animal after their first thunder storm.

Anna ran her semi free hand along the rough metal of Wheeljack's servos and tried to make out any kind of crack or give between his massive servos. She silently cursed how badly her fingers shook.

"Uncle Jack?" Her voice only came out a horse whisper so she cleared her throat and tried again. "Jack? Are you ok?"

Her breaths were becoming shallower and she tried to push on his hands again.

"Jack! I'm running out of air! Please wake up."

She felt tears welling up in her already heavy eyes but she tried her best to swallow them. She couldn't afford to panic; it would waste precious oxygen and get her nowhere. The air was becoming stagnant and overbearingly warm with humidity. It was enough incentive for Anna to put all of her strength in an attempt to stretch her body out but again Wheeljack didn't even twitch.

Her heart wrenched as she envisioned the worst. What if he was dead? Even though he was made of metal and covered in armor it would still be very possible for flying debris and high temperatures to melt circuitry and cut through wires. She could very well be in the clutches of her dead Uncle and would slowly suffocate to parish with him.

"Jack! Say something, please!"

She didn't want him to be dead. Yes, he had lied about his identity and wasn't even from her planet but he was her Uncle Jack. He was there when she was born, he was there when her parents had split up, and he was always there when she needed him. He just couldn't be gone; she couldn't lose him after her dad and Kaden. Their deaths were still too fresh.

Against her will a single sob escaped her throat forcing her to suck in a large amount of precious air. Her thoughts flew to Ironhide and she wondered if he were alive too. The burly bodyguard seemed like the type who was impossible to kill. No matter how many times he got shot he would just get back up again. She couldn't imagine his electric blue optics faded with death. What did a transformer even look like when they died? Did they just slowly rust away?

Something tugged in her chest and if possible, her mind. From out of the blue one word flashed through her mind so fast she might have missed it but the odd familiarity had her grabbing aholt of it like a life line. Barricade. It was almost as if her mind went on autopilot or was attached to a string as the portion of his spark she possessed actively felt for his presence and the alert buzz of his mind. It was a sensation of a sharp prick after touching a glowing ember of coals when she found him. His presence was almost tangible and she could tell he immediately took notice of her as well but didn't necessarily reach back, he seemed almost guarded.

It snapped her awake and almost immediately, as if by some silent command, her constant shivering ceased. He was alive and she was alive. That meant others could be as well. She just had to think calmly and rationally to get out of this predicament. Her air was at the tail end of its use leaving her gasping for breath and she knew she had to escape Wheeljack's clutch or suffocate. Anna struggled again, the urge to breathe fresh air and the knowledge she wasn't the only one alive fuelled new strength into her limbs. She pushed desperately against the metal hands that were still warm and felt her anxiety climbing with each shortened gasp.

"Jack!" she hollered desperately one last time to try and wake her Uncle.

Panic overwhelmed her which gained Barricade's more direct "attention". She could feel his spark's shard reacting violently, fluttering and tugging desperately towards its larger half in a cry for oxygen. Her lungs were burning and her head was growing light; her vision began blurring dangerously with black spots. Anna shoved one last time, as hard as she could against the impenetrable walls. Nothing shifted or even twitched against her strain. Tears pricked her eyes in the cramped quarters but still she swallowed them.

The clammy air was becoming unbearably hot but there was nothing she could do. Defeated, she curled closer in on herself and held back a sob. What would happen if she died right now? Was Uncle Jack still alive? Was Ironhide still functional? Would Sideswipe hate her all over again for just shriveling and giving up? Would her death result in Barricade's offlining too? Would she even care? Did Victoria ever officially adopt Cooper? Her mom might never find out how she died, Anna never even got to tell her about the transformers…and Kaden. She couldn't even finish her train of thought and cursed the fuzzy feeling collecting in her brain. The lack of oxygen was getting to her head.

Anna squeezed her eyes against the blackness and fought the pressure filling her ears that had nothing to do with the aftermath of explosions. Suffocating was always on her top list of worst ways to die, she really didn't want to go out like this, but it looked as if she had no choice. Despite her slowing heart rate she could feel Barricades spark sliver burning hotly in her chest like a magnet, pulling angrily in its other half's direction and in return she felt a rush of anxiety that wasn't her own.

A squealing sound filtered through the fog drowning her ears and made her involuntarily flinch before her whole world spun like the inside of a washing machine. Anna was hardly jostled in the cramped space but a distinct feeling of flipping around could be felt in the pit of her stomach until the world came to a stop; gravity dictated she was now pinned on her back.

Anna waited with baited breath, could feel her heart rate increasing, and sucked in another insufficient breath of humid air. The sound of metal groaning against a large amount of strain creaked above her head then a small sliver of flickering light filtered through a growing crack between Wheeljack's servos. Anna felt a rush of cool air and hungrily sucked it in. The fingers were forced apart even wider and she could see a mass of green and red metal reflecting an orange glow in the night outside.

It was Dewbot; the quad-armed mini-Decepticon was prying Uncle Jack's heavy metallic fingers open. He held a gap barely large enough for Anna to fit through with three impossibly powerful arms and reached in with a fourth. She leaned forward to crawl out without anymore encouragement, without questioning the red optic 'con, as claustrophobia once again began to take root.

Dewbot's made a serious of garbled Cybertronian sounds as he reached his clawed hand in and grabbed aholt of Anna's forearm. He dragged her out with a painful yank but she didn't complain even when his servos pierced her skin.

Anna braced herself, hands first, on Wheeljack's chest plate. She realized Dewbot must have flipped him over and she found a new respect in the small 'con's strength. The spots lifted from her vision and the underwater feeling in her ears slowly receded. Her eyes wondered from Wheeljack's glistening white metal to the horizon and fell quietly stunned down to the core of her snatched spark. The base was an absolute disaster. The tarmac was littered with chunks of metal and concrete piled almost as high as Ironhide was tall and only the charred skeletons of a few buildings still stood.

Debris were still burning hot from the explosion, furniture already blacked to a crisp and broken office furniture were still roaring with fire. The flames flickered through the dark sky and the smell from the wafting smoke sent Anna's mind on a throwback to the air craft carrier's carnage.

For a moment she panicked, believing she was really there again. Images of the giant silver transformer staring right at her, right through her with his burning red optics from the sky made her involuntarily shiver. A mental shove pulsed through her mind and flowed threw her limbs making Anna involuntarily jerk. She blinked rapidly and saw only the destroyed base once again. Dewbot chortled behind her. "I know, I know," she said quickly, not even knowing the reason for her words and stood to her feet.

She climbed over Wheeljack's chest to his head and looked into his black optics. He was eerily still even when she wrapped on his blast plate. "Uncle Jack?" Nothing, not even a twitch. Anna cursed and looked around the glowing base, trying to seek out any familiar figures. It was hard to make out much of anything without the floodlights but she could have sworn she saw a human body lying broken over a jagged piece of concrete, just like the carcasses floating in the ocean.

Movement from Dewbot snapped her attention back to the present, his clanking footsteps brought her attention to the 'con shifting on his bulky pedes and looking rather uneasy. What should she do? What _could_ she do? There was no police to call, no 911 number to magically make everything better. There was no EMS for giant alien robots.

Then a thought struck her. She had a shred of the Allspark's power in her. It had the ability to create alien life so maybe it could heal them as well. Anna tried to think how she had used its electrical charge before. It always seemed to channel through her fingers whenever she brushed something but there was no way of knowing how she did it. Never had she tried to make the energy work under her command, it was always random and unpredictable, like a lightning storm. There had to be _some_ way to control it.

She took a deep breath and felt ridiculous as she chanted in her head, "Please wake Uncle Jack up, fix him."

She squeezed her eyes shut and thought the line over and over again. No feeling of being zapped coursed through her body and in exasperation she opened her eyes. Nothing, he was just as still as before. Anna made a frustrated sound which made Dewbot titter in Cybertronian. She turned to the green and red 'con and sat on Wheeljack's chassis just under his collar plate.

"What do we do now?" she said quietly.

Dewbot raised his arms in the air and began to make angry sounds through his razor sharp teeth. Anna stared at him quizzically until something she hadn't noticed before detached itself from his side and began chattering just as loudly. Anna blinked, unsure if she was really seeing the small white transformer that was only about two or three feet tall and skittering out of reach of Dewbot's swiping claw. She carefully watched the red optic mini 'con run towards and around.

"Hey, what are you-"

She jolted in surprise when its spindly claws gripped her arm and watched it poked its head around her body, using her like a shield, and made equally angry chattering sounds at Dewbot. Her head started to pulse uncomfortably and she was about to write it off as a side effect to dehydration or not enough food when her vision started getting blotchy again. A migraine filled her head as strange symbols began appearing in her vision and no matter where she looked the rapidly appearing characters followed like spots after looking directly into the sun.

Anna doubled over her knees and desperately rubbed at her forehead. The white 'con and Dewbot's chattering became louder and she could hear different combinations of pitches she swore were impossible for her range of hearing. They varied from low grumbles to high pitched whines that all played at once like some complex instrument.

"Off…fragger…plasma…"

Anna thought she was losing it, she could have sworn between the scratchy sounds there were English words overlaying their tones.

"Get off, you're harming the human! Barricade promised to tear us apart if we kill it."

Anna blinked at Dewbot as the pain receded and she could fully understand a structured sentence as if it were in her own language.

"What?" she said quietly in disbelief.

"I'm not hurting it! You're the brute who would damage it. If I remember right you made it bleed sticky red stuff and ran crying to Barricade to fix it," the small white 'con said rather smugly.

Anna looked between the two of them numbly. They were talking, it wasn't English, and she could understand them.

The small white 'con poked her arm and she could feel the light pressure of its sharp digit but the pointed end never pierced through her skin.

Anna swatted him away. "Stop it," she growled.

It jumped away from her hand. "See?" it said to Dewbot smugly.

"You don't have to prove it by jabbing me," she growled at the smaller 'con.

It seemed to freeze when she glared right at it then its spell was broken when the white 'con ran back to Dewbot's side.

"Did the human just understand Cybertronian?" it asked its larger partner.

"Yes this _human_ can understand you," she growled.

Anna had never seen this small 'con before and she couldn't see any faction symbols on it, much like Dewbot, but it's red optics denoted a 'con. She knew her mind was using the small transformer as a distraction, a horribly misplaced distraction, but it was somewhere to direct her frustration even if it came across as being angry with the small creature.

The white 'con stuck something akin to a tongue out at her which made Anna bristle.

"Stop it X," Dewbot warned and lifted an arm up to expose the little 'con only to have it dart to his other side.

The new 'con made an awkward scrunch not quite meant for what passed for its nose. "The human thing smells funny."

Anna glared him.

"Why you little-"

She stood up too sharply and stumbled when her foot caught a space in Wheeljack's armor. She tumbled back down, catching herself with outstretched hands, and gripped his massive arm that was slung over his chest. The hair on her arms and neck rose with a tingling sensation as the air suddenly felt charged with energy and a heat exploded from her chest and raced down her arms. Her breath held when her fingers sparked with blue electricity that arched onto Wheeljack's armor and snaked into his circuitry.

Dewbot made a startled sound and the small white 'con barely latched onto the brawler before he lunged to the ground below and disappeared from site. The body under Anna lurched and a burst of hot air coming from somewhere in Wheeljack's internal systems flung the tangled hair from her face. It was all she could do to hang on when Wheeljack sprung to a sitting position. Barricade psychologically tensed, which hardly made any sense to her but she was eternally grateful when Wheeljack caught sight of her and immediately ceased his flailing.

"Annabelle!"

Wheeljack cupped a hand under her sloth-like position hooked to his arm and gently pressed his palm onto her back. Anna let go and vented a shaky sigh of relief. At the rate things were going she was pretty certain a harness made specifically for staying attached to building sized cybertronians would be a good investment, if they made them.

Wheeljack brought her to his face, to asses any damage she thought, but couldn't be sure with his expression hidden by the blast plate. His shoulders were tense and Anna saw for the first time how the top of them were charred with a fine film of black. She didn't get a chance to ogle long when he wordlessly cupped her against his chest plate and surveyed the area.

He tried to stand but Anna heard a horrible grinding noise and the sound of rapidly powering fans hummed higher before he fell back down with a heavy thump. He cursed, she supposed, in Cybertronian but couldn't be quite sure which language she was hearing anymore.

"Are you ok?" she asked in a voice that came out surprisingly quiet.

His armor felt hotter than usual and it was becoming uncomfortable to rest against the scratched white paint. She was afraid the Allspark had restarted his systems but hadn't exactly healed him, perhaps she did more harm than good.

"There's something jammed in my back struts," he ground and Anna immediately picked up on the pain in his voice.

"Let me down and I'll get it out-"

"No." She flinched at the loud-commanding word; he rarely ever raised his voice. Wheeljack's pained grimace softened and he looked down at her. "Anna, look at me very carefully."

She did, Anna watched the subtle twitches in his face that let her know he was trying to rein in a considerable amount of pain but also in his optics; they were filled with a seriousness he almost never showed. It was still odd seeing her old Uncle Jack as a two and a half story tall robot but even so, she could see him behind the plates of alien metal. He was still family.

"This situation is dangerous. If I tell you to hide, you go hide and don't come out until I tell you to."

Anna frowned. "Yeah sure but let me take whatever it is obstructing your back out first so you can at least stand up."

"No, I'm not putting you down unless I have to. My sensors are fried and we need to be on alert. This destruction might have been caused by humans but it doesn't mean the Decepticons won't see this as a golden opportunity."

"How would they find out so fast? I'm sure there's enough time for me to pull it out," she argued.

He looked hesitant and Anna was about to push him again when he finally said, "We know Soundwave has been monitoring us from space so the Decepticons are more than likely already on their way."

She mouthed a silent 'oh'. The name Soundwave was unfamiliar but if this Decepticon was monitoring from space then she didn't doubt, she guessed it was a he, already knew and had alerted the others. Her mind immediately brought up images of a three faced Berkut firing missiles of ice and fire. No doubt the triple changer would be one of the first on scene. Anna wondered if there were other Decepticons that could fly and just how fast they could go. Surely they could outpace normal earth jets.

"Fine then. Why don't you wait here and I'll go find one of the guys to help you. You can't fight them like this."

"Absolutely not. Barricade could be loose and there's too much debris. I'm not going to let you get killed."

"Uncle Jack. Put me down right now so I can be of some use or so help me I will jump," she growled and tried to stand.

"You will do no such thing."

He tilted his hand closer to his chest forcing Anna to stumble back against him and only made her grunt in frustration.

"Jack! Let me down!" she demanded. Anna knew she sounded like a three year old but didn't care; she was done trying to negotiate with him.

"Annabelle, don't fight me." His voiced wavered in the way she knew all too well as a tall tale sign he was losing his temper. Well, she was too.

"That's it." She squirmed her way out of his hand and scampered to her feet. Wheeljack tried to catch her but Anna dodged and ran across his chest and without a second thought jumped over the side of his shoulder.

He lurched to try and catch her but a current of pain jerked him back and Anna fell on her hands and knees. She lifted her right hand and shook it out a bit before blowing on it. Lucky her scraped it on a piece of metal.

"Anna." The pain in Wheeljack's suddenly weakened voice made her heart clench.

"I'm going to find help. Just wait here." She wanted to reassure him but in truth she was scared for the other Autobots. What if they were in even worse condition?

Without glancing back a second time she began to carefully pick her way through the base that now looked like a war zone. It was hard to see in the dark, especially through the smoke whenever the wind wafted it her way. The stars were numerous and the moon was a quarter of the way full, there wasn't a cloud in the sky and she wondered if Soundwave was looking straight at her that moment.

* * *

_-Barricade-_

Brittle earth material, further weakened by the charring of fire, crunched under Barricade's pedes. It had been a long time since he laid optics on destruction of such a caliber. But it was still nothing compared to the billowing smoke covering the crumbling world of Cybertron, though; it had a touch of familiarity to it. If anything, the attack was a promising sign that his fellow Decepticons weren't far behind.

There was no absurd flicker in his processor that they were here to free him. No, he was just conveniently in the vulnerable Autobot base Starscream decided to bomb. It would seem the bird-brained Seeker had some processing power after all. But Barricade couldn't help think it was all a bit out of character. Starscream was the kind to stab others in the back and have underlings do his dirty work. Direct methods weren't usually his ideal way of destruction.

Luck was with Barricade when the explosions short circuited the underground power grid. The sudden disruption of energy feed to his bars allowed him to take the Second in Command by surprise. The total blackness forced both of them to use their infrared vision making it a bit harder to fight but Barricade managed to disable, if not offline, the tactician. It was a bit harder to dig his way out onto the surface but it was well worth the labor.

Barricade scanned the grounds, the flicker of fire shinning off his glossy armor possibly giving away his position of little concern. The skies were clear of vapor trails and there was no residue energy from the blasts besides normal heat. Odd, he wouldn't think Starscream would stoop to using primitive weapons even for a task such as this.

Barricade broke through the Autobot's firewalls with ease and accessed his suppressed scanners and searched for Decepticon signatures. No familiar signal came back and he doubted Starscream would try to hide his, odd again. Perhaps it was a cowardly hit and run, _that_ was like Starscream.

Barricade shrugged a piece of debris to the side and took another step forwards only to freeze when an uncharacteristically soft object made a dull crunching sound. He stepped back, disgusted by the human appendage that was now crushed and pooling red liquid about the black cement. The owner of the demolished arm was already deceased. A piece of metal, from one of the explosions no doubt, was wedged into their blistered and blackened skull.

The hunter couldn't understand how such small and frail creatures had lived on this planet for so long. The human species was reckless, prone to damage not easily fixed, and tended to be emotionally unstable. It sickened him to no end that such a creature was, for lack of a better word, _bonded_ to him. The Allspark had a twisted processor and it all must have been some sort of punishment from Primus.

Barricade had learned and experienced how fickle and emotionally unstable Seekers were, but when it came to the human female he was surprised the creature hadn't gone AWOL or offlined from a processor error. More than once, from the feedback alone, he had wanted to purge his tanks or offline himself from the absurd flexation of emotions; the way they piled on top of each other was simply unnatural.

They were so strong sometimes that his own emotions were influenced no matter how hard he tried to block them out. The only reprieve he would get from the ravaging torrent was when the organic fell into recharge, but even then he could feel seeping emotions during its REM stage of sleep.

The moment he could find a way to remove _his _spark from the human female, a thought that makes his door panels bristle, he would terminate the insect in the most painful way possible. For now, at least, the little glitch was miraculously still alive. If the steady stream of fear was anything to go by the female was relatively unharmed as well. He just hoped its luck would continue; he needed the human functional if he wanted to live and later reclaim the Allspark's power for himself.

Speaking of glitches sparked the wrong way, Barricade wondered if the heard head, Dewbot, had found the human yet. The young 'con born of Allspark energy was confused and had more brawn than brains, as the humans say, but even the four armed youngling had his uses. Barricade hated to admit it but without the 'con trapped underground with him he might not have been able to muscle his way out of the brig; at least not in the amount of time he was able to breach the surface.

Dewbot listened to him better than past subordinates and seemed to have a strange fetish for his human. The sparkling seemed trustworthy enough that he ordered it to bring the human designated Annabelle Swift to him or hide her if any Decepticons were around. No doubt his fellow 'cons would _accidentally_ step on the female or kill her for the simple pleasure of ripping apart the species they all hate so much.

The echoes of panic the female had been radiating on and off suddenly grew in such strength that he felt the fragment of his spark calling for him, believing it would extinguish at any moment. The female's distress channeling through his spark was nearly tangible and it took all of his willpower not to storm to her aid and pry the human from where ever she was more than likely trapped. He would not stoop so low as to saving an organic. No, let the grunts do the dirty work and make the creature lower than himself come to him if he commanded it.

It made him furious how strongly the human effected him sometimes. When the human female was in full out distress his spark reached out to its other half and the organic it inhabited, sending a soothing emotion even before he was fully aware he was doing it. He rained himself in, putting up every wall he could think of. Bond's were not something he was used to and regretfully it was hard to control at times.

He reasoned that his spark was only drawing on instinct and wanted to protect itself. Every sliver of energy from his core was important and it would be excruciating to lose any part of him, his essence. That was most likely the reason for his…possessiveness. Yes he was possessive of what was his and the human female had something of high importance to him.

Not one to be caught underpowered in a potentially hostile zone, Barricade pulled out a variety of parts from subspace and began assembling them with ease. The components popped into place just as they should until he was holding a fairly small, but very real cybertronian gun. The human Tyler had proved his usefulness by bringing him parts from the Autobot's weaponry piece by piece. It was simple enough to break down the pieces even further so they resembled nothing but spare parts. The only portion he needed to keep hidden were the cartages that would have to be used sparingly.

Armed and loaded, the hunter crouched among the rubble and stalked through the debris towards the female human, sensing out his missing spark so he could snatch her to be his prisoner and collateral.

* * *

_-Annabelle-_

Some say no smell can compete with the choking scent of burning flesh and hair and Anna wouldn't argue with them. The scent alone was enough to make her want to vomit, in fact she dry heaved a couple times before recollecting herself. Anna stumbled through the rubble in search of a familiar face; praying she wouldn't find anyone she knew dead, human or cybertronian.

She did her best to keep her head forward and ignore the dead bodies lying twisted and lifeless around her but each gruesome scene was harder to pry her eyes away from than the last. If the Carrier ship hadn't given her nightmares then this surely would. At least that time they were just floating in the ocean with no upturned face to stare at and the currents eagerly swept them out to sea.

Here it was like a display from a movie set, except those weren't manikins or people just drenched in ketchup. They weren't actors and this wasn't a pretend war. It was almost surreal and Anna couldn't help but feel that her mind was in a fog-like state as she panned around the dark island.

She was exhausted, inside and out. Every time her thoughts tried to wander to Kaden or Tyler it felt like hitting brick wall in a smoky room. She wanted to think about it but then again didn't. Hatred still burned in her chest at Tyler but there was just too much going on, too many factors wildly out of her control. So much so that it made her head spin and threaten to make her vomit all over again. Miraculously she had been able to hold her nonexistent breakfast thus far.

Anna had no choice but to climb over burning metal and crumbled concrete with her simple goal running through her head like a tape recorder, to find help for Uncle Jack. That much she could focus on, it was something she could do, a way to filter through the smoke.

She was thankful at least for the pair of jeans she wore. Without them her legs would surely be as cut up as her hands, which supported her weight over the sharp piles of unstable rubble. Scabs were sure to form all over her forearms. What would her mom have to say when she looked like a three year old who fell off their bike for the first time?

Anna reached the pinnacle of a rather large pile and vaguely noted the larger spectrum of destruction she could suddenly see from the new vantage point. Her dulled brown eyes swept the area for any sign of movement but still all her inferior night vision could catch were flickering fires and belated collapsing structures. Inadvertent tears pricked her eyes and she angrily wiped them away.

She had to think of what to look for, what would be easy to spot so she could recognize someone? Ratchet, she thought immediately. Ironhide's black armor would be dark and hard to see but the medic had a bright lime-green paint job like a fire truck. Surely the flames would make his reflective body light up like a beacon; besides, wouldn't he be best suited to help Uncle Jack? He was their medic after all.

With a new direction of coherent thought driving her, Anna took a step forward and began pacing her way shakily down the hill of debris. She only made it a couple steps before the ground shifted from under her and she lost all footing. Anna gasped as she tumbled backwards and became caught up in the landside flowing downwards in a mass of rolling dust and scrap.

Several objects painfully bumped her head and shoulders while her back scrapped against jagged metal and concrete. Her feet uselessly tried to catch something solid and her battered arms flayed for anything stationary to grabbed aholt of until something fairly sturdy momentarily stopped her feet then snapped, sending Anna tumbling forwards.

Her throat hitched knowing there was no way to break her fall even as her arms flew out instinctively to save her face. She hit something painfully solid and unmoving which sent her into another uncontrolled roll. The air rushed out of her lungs when she landed flat on her back but again instinct had her hands flying to protect her face as several objects hurtled down on her. The hits were painful; they cut her skin and heavily banged off her elbow and wrists bones, forcing a stifled high grunt of pain to escape her with each hit.

The barrage ended and she angrily swept a beam off her arm and kicked whatever she could get her feet on down the pile with a string of curses. She couldn't help the pricking tears as they came again in response to the physical pain. Her vision blurred behind the curtain of welling water and this time there was no stopping them. Anna hurt inside and out, her dog was dead, Uncle Jack was incapacitated, the Decepticons were more than likely on their way, and she was utterly useless and alone.

She laid on the heap, waiting for the physical stings to lessen while she allowed herself to cry silently; not even bothering to wipe away the streams of liquid as it trailed down her cheeks and dripped onto the metal beneath her.

More pieces of metal fell and crunched against each other in the distance as they settling against stronger structures. Anna let the sounds fill her with the soft crackling of fire. It was too dark to know behind closed lids if there was any alteration in outside light but Anna had a sudden prickling of her neck and a strange _knowing_ that something was looming right over her. She opened her eyes with a jolt and nearly screamed at the towering robot standing over her with burning red eyes.

She bolted up right and began crawling backwards with a rise of panic. Barricade, he was going to kill her for sure. The hunter watched her scramble, hardly going anywhere against the parts sliding under Anna and felt her solid fear, one emotion he knew how to handle.

"Come here you."

Barricade swiped his massive claw towards her and scooped Anna up with a fair amount of debris that fell between his servos as he lifted her up to his face. Anna watched with silent, numb terror as the Decepticon looked her over like some kind of cuisine at a Master Chef competition. A growl rumbled through his frame in displeasure and his servos twitched making Anna jump. Anger was welling up from his emotions and Anna didn't fight nor fully feel it as the sensation swept over her.

Without so much as a word Barricade sneered with his razor sharp teeth, held her away from him but still cupped awkwardly in his cage like servos, and began walking in a seemingly random direction. Anna was baffled that he hadn't killed her but then something in the back of her head was screaming if she died then he might too; like she needed to be reminded. Perhaps her current rationalization was further gone than she thought.

With her legs dangling from the Decepticon's loose grasp, Anna swept her eyes about the new vantage point and still tried to spot a familiar face. Ratchet's neon-like paint never jumped out at her nor did Ironhide's bulky armor. But what she did see made her heart or spark, she couldn't tell, panic. Barricade stopped to stare down at the massive red and blue Autobot lying unnaturally still under a collapsed building.

"Optimus." Her scratchy voice quietly stated.

His armor was charred and shredded in certain places.

"Good riddance," Barricade's deep voice automatically growled. He didn't sound particularly happy or relieved, just also stating a fact. "It seems Starscream has more processors than I originally thought."

Anna looked up at him with confusion but didn't comment; it was obvious he wasn't talking to her. She wondered what would happen to her now. What would happen to Wheeljack who was injured with no help coming? She seemed to have escaped the fate of suffocation only to be thrown into another situation that would lead to death. The only difference now was the question of_ how_ she would die. Skewered? Stepped on? Made into an alien experiment? Shot through the head if she annoyed Barricade enough?

The rumble of a helicopter shot her eyes skyward and through the blackness she could make out the silhouette of several Black Hawks dangling giant crates underneath them. They landed somewhere behind the flickering flames her sight couldn't follow and Anna couldn't shake the cold sensation that crawled over her skin and made the hair on the back of her neck rise.

Confusion bled from Barricade which urged Anna to open her mouth. "What?"

The Decepticon glared down at her, or he seemed to be with the permanent way his optics were set, and surprised her with an answer. "It's not any of your business insect." Then almost as an afterthought, "Have you located any Decepticons?" he demanded.

"Dewbot, and some weird little white thing," she tiredly replied but stiffened after her brain caught up. She had understood the two 'cons in their own language.

"What 'white thing'?" he demanded.

"A small Decepticon that was clinging to Dewbot's side."

Barricade looked unimpressed. "That's it?"

Anna nodded.

He fell silent but Anna could tell his processors were firing at a rapid pace from the way his emotions subtly changed to one of contemplation.

"Traitor!"

Both Anna and Barricade jerked towards a scruffy looking man running towards them like a drunken bull. His pupils were dilated and he staggered in his steps every few feet. Neither of them knew where he came from, it was as if he materialized from the darkness. She automatically leaned closer to Barricade when a wave of mistrust welled in her upon realizing it was the Old Man from that night on the life raft. Anna watched warily as the hunter lifted a rather menacing looking gun with his free hand and pointed it at the deranged man.

"Back off human," Barricade boomed.

"You're betraying the human race girl! So you can die with them you sympathizer!" the Old Man hollered hoarsely and began clumsily unbuttoning his shirt.

There was something strange and lumpy under his shirt and when she realized it was she gasped. "Those are bombs!"

"Duck!" Barricade ordered and immediately fired his weapon. Anna crouched further into his hand even with her legs dangling over the edge of his palm, and covered her head.

Barricade turned around with his hand toting the gun hovering over his own head just as Anna heard the deafening explosion. She thought the trembling she had experienced before was bad but this was pure terror. Her shaking felt like an outright seizure was as she couldn't help but imagine splattered blood and body parts where the man once stood. The crazy look in the Old Man's eyes would be forever ingrained in her memory.

Barricade began moving and Anna skewered her eyes shut and clung to one of the deadly servos with a vice grip. She couldn't face the reality of what was behind them, her imagination was bad enough. The Decepticon's servo's twitched in her grasp and folded over her legs which in a strange way she was grateful for. Her shaking was so violent Anna didn't doubt she would fall.

A strange sensation like a pulsing current rippled through the bond and settled into her chest. It spread through her limbs like a warm blanket and suddenly everything began to feel fuzzy. She didn't know how long her mind stopped and simply focused on the steady pulse. It reminded Anna of when she was little, resting her head against Uncle Jack's chest while listening to a bedtime story. She had been able to feel the warmth of his body even thought it was fake, and the beating of his heart had been a comfortable thrum against her back.

The memory swept her away until the feeling suddenly vanished and a feeling of ice being dumped into her veins replaced it causing her to shiver.

"You can look now," Barricade grumbled above her.

Anna automatically opened her eyes and saw nothing more shocking than she had already seen. The only difference was there were more helicopters circling the air space with giant crates hanging from them and the sound of a jet engine more than likely on the ground whined nearby. She felt suddenly guilty for leaving Optimus behind without at least checking for some kind of life but there was no going back now.

Barricade suddenly crouched low to the ground and began walking with quieter footsteps that nearly disappeared from Anna's range of hearing. She wanted to ask what he was doing but kept her mouth shut. After a moment shouts arose in the distance that Anna could barely hear with her significantly dulled hearing but suddenly she understood the hunter's cautious posture.

He ducked around a half standing warehouse looked around it cautiously. Anna could see through holes in the wall and watched several men dressed in nest uniforms run past her vision. She shifted a little to change her point of view and saw a tractor dragging along a rather charred looking sports vehicle. Not even a violent fire could completely get rid of all the hideous yellow Anna knew belonged to Sunstreaker.

His vehicle form was pulled into a rather large crate and out of view.

"What are they doing _now_?" she whispered and half groaned.

"Deceiving the Autobots it appears," Barricade said with a level of morbid smugness she could feel.

"They did blow up the base," she snapped.

Barricade jerked his head down at her. "The humans did this?"

"Ever heard of the EA group? Or has your head been under a rock like everyone else?"

"Watch your tone with me human. I will not hesitate to kill you."

"Then why carry me around at all?" she challenged.

"Silence!" he hissed and all but dumped Anna on the ground.

She scrambled to her legs and noticed for the first time that she wasn't shaking anymore, but she did feel like her body was about to collapse from exhaustion.

Barricade towered over her and Anna glared back up at him defiantly. _"Squish me already" _she thought specifically at him.

Barricade made a _"pft." _Sound and said,_ "You're not worth the effort, insect."_ Before stepping back and folding in on himself. Anna watched the stocky Decepticon turn into a Saleen Mustang as pristine as if it were brand new. The scrolling white words _"To punish and enslave"_ shone against the black paint like a taunting gesture.

"_Get in my trunk."_

Anna blinked once. "What?"

"_I knew you humans were stupid but I didn't realize you were deaf as well. Get in my trunk."_

Her jaw dropped. "I am _not_ getting in your trunk," she said out loud once again.

Barricade's engine revved and a pricking feeling shot through her chest like an uncomfortable pressure.

"_Get. In. Now."_

She glared at the faux police car and cautiously walked around to its rear. There was a distinct click as his trunk lifted and Anna stared at it like something might jump out at her.

"_If this is some kind of weird sexual harassment I'm suing your ass."_

"_Just get in!" _he snapped.

Anna didn't like it but what other choice did she have? Go running off blind into the night? He hadn't killed her already. Sucking in a large part of her dignity, Anna pulled the trunk up and climbed into the cramped space. The only way she could fit was by curling on her side and even then her knees were nearly going through her head. The door closed over her of its own accord and she was doused in complete darkness.

* * *

**Author's random note:** You know one of those scenes you have stuck in your head from the moment a plot bunny bites you at a stories' infancy, before a word of it has even had a chance to hit paper? And you've been dying to write it for almost a year? Well for me, that would be this chapter.

P.S. I think I've developed a severe case comma syndrome. XD


	30. Chapter 30

**Author's note:** OH. MY. GOD. I saw Dark Side of the Moon and it was AMAZING. It's officially my new favorite movie. Bay finally found his balance between action, characterization, and storytelling. You can thank him for returning my muse too! That's right I haven't written because I've been on a low in writing. BUT I'M BACK! Seriously though. I thought I was seeing a rabid combination of every great transformers invasion fanfic I had ever read. I think I've gone into a transformers coma and won't be coming out any time soon. Not that that's a bad thing…

**Disclaimer:** I do not own transformers

**MOVIE RANT AND SPOILERS!-**

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I nearly cried watching every single one of my favorite characters except Ratchet die in painful slow motion. I felt a wrench in my gut every time. Especially the first one with Ironhide. WHYYYYY! I felt so bad for Lennox who had to watch then carry on like nothing happened. Barricade came back too! I spotted him immediately and nearly had a heart attack when I recognized those large door panels and quad optics. I think I did have one when he died nearly right after he came on screen. You know, ever since the second movie I'd been thinking Megatron was becoming the 'bitch' of every villain and not the main leader 'who doesn't take crap or share with anyone' as I see him. I nearly keeled over laughing when Bay had Sam's new girl friend bluntly point it out to him. It was brilliant because I'm sure everyone had been thinking the same thing. It was just great to hear it in tangent with my own thoughts right before the scene. I loved how they finally showed Megatron as truly caring for the fate of Cybertron and the transformer race. And gave a glimpse of how he was fighting for the same thing as the Autobots but to an opposite extreme. It was subtle in his downed state from the hatchlings he was desperately trying to nourish to his fixated gaze on Cybertron. But it was bluntly there for anyone who knows. I felt bad for Megatron and laughed my ass off at the same time when he tried to team up with Optimus and got his face ripped off by the Autobot leader (without Optimus even saying a word) for his efforts. Sorry kiddies the two factions will never work together in real life like they do in the silly cartoons. I still don't get Starscream's rabid drooling issue though…

I. LOVED. IT. and will watch it again before it's out of theaters.

I finally got to buy Steve Jablonsky's score CD for the movie too. I LOVE his music, he's my absolute favorite composer, and have been waiting almost as anxiously for the disk as I did the movie! And let me tell you, he didn't disappoint. I wish he would sell the music sheets so I could play the string portion. Arrival to Earth is still my absolute favorite score of all time.

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**END SPOILERS!-**

* * *

Anna didn't know she had fallen asleep until the realization of waking hit her. She opened her groggy eyes to darkness and half-heartedly wondered if she were home asleep for a moment. Her whole body was sore and she had an uncontrollable urge to stretch but when she tried her feet kicked against a solid barrier. For a quick moment Anna's mind raced and thought she was still in Wheeljack's hands but instantly calmed when remembering Barricade's order to climb into his trunk; that bastard. At least she was alive, and beside growing urges, felt physically better than she had in a long time.

"_Finally online?"_

Anna's eyes widened for the span of a millisecond before her dilated pupils settled in the pitch blackness around her. She still wasn't used to hearing Barricade in her head and doubted she ever would.

"_Unfortunately. How long was I out and where are we?" _

Her ears still held a light ring from the earlier explosions but she could have sworn there was a loud hum in the air that could be felt vibrating through the floor and in her chest.

"_Twelve hours, twenty five minutes, and thirty seconds in your earth time. Currently we are in a human aircraft bound for an unknown destination." _Anna was surprised he answered at all and could have snorted at how specific he always had to get. Transformers were always so literal, as she was finding out. Twelve hours was a pretty hefty time to be asleep, her body must have been more overtaxed than she originally thought. Then again, it wasn't hard to do when in complete blackness. She supposed it was some organic physiological thing.

"_Aircraft? You mean we're in one of those crates the Hawks were carrying?" _she asked almost mortified. Just the thought of dangling inside one of those things thousands of feet in the air over the ocean made her chest clench.

"_Negative. There was one aircraft taking off with an Autobot the humans were unable to force into their alternate mode for packaging conveyance."_

Her muscled loosened. Being in the craft's belly was much more preferable than hanging by a swingable cord. _"Packaging convenience,"_ she muttered spitefully in her mind and forgot too late the Decepticon could hear her direct thoughts. He seemed smart enough to figure out she was grumbling to herself or simply didn't care. In fact his feelings seemed to be mutually disgusted which was a surprise.

"_So why did you get us caught?" _she finally asked.

"_Because we were on an island and the only way to get off was to fly. I know it's hard for your insect mind to comprehend but I do not possess a seeker alt mode,"_ he growled with rising irritation. Wow he really did think she was stupid. _"Now stop asking questions."_

Anna had a nagging feeling he wasn't telling the whole truth. Why didn't he simply stay if the Decepticons were more than likely on their way? That seemed like the more logical plan of action for him to take. Silence fell between them and Anna did her best to concentrate on the faint hum of the plane, and something else she couldn't quite place. It was a strange pulsing sensation that in a way, comforting like…a heartbeat. Anna went even more ridged, if that were possible in her balled up position, and her breath stopped. She was sure the sensation was Barricade's own circuitry reacting the pulse of his spark, or fuel tanks, or whatever pumped fluids through his systems.

"_Let me out," _she hissed.

Barricade didn't grace her with more than a grunt so Anna kicked the inside of his trunk. It came out as more of an awkward flail since it was difficult to get a good kick when there was no way to recoil for force.

"Let me out," she repeated with physical voice. She didn't know why it bothered her so much but each time the circuitry pulsed she became more acutely aware of the cramped space. Tension built in her muscles and she could all but feel a panic attack coming on, or explosion was probably a more accurate term. A grenade would have been be very satisfying right then.

"_Silence!"_

She felt a wave of aggravation and urgency, not necessarily straight forward anger as per usual, flow from his side of the bond. That still freaked her out a bit. Maybe more than his voice in her head. She thanked god he didn't seem the kind to play sick mind games and simply told her to shut up more than half the time. Though it was too early into all this mess for her to accurately assess the way he normally reacted to things. Though this situation was anything but normal. Perhaps it was a bad thing she was beginning to tell the difference between current flavors to his special blend of constant 'angry', all the same. Anna huffed and smacked the trunk lid with the flat edge of her foot. The cramped angle only allowed the outside of her shoe to bang the top. It wasn't the best vantage point to get in a good swing in, she finally concluded. Anna did it a couple more times for good measure anyway. She was sure it didn't hurt the 'Con but the tapping had to irritate him. Everything else did.

"Let me out you bastard or so help me I'll relieve myself right here then I'll be complaining because I'm miserable and you'll smell disgusting for however longer were stuck here," she threatened.

"_What are you talking about insect?" _he growled.

"I need to find a restroom."

There was silence for a moment and Anna gave him a short grace period just in case he was looking it up on the internet. She really didn't need to use the bathroom. She sweated out every droplet of liquid that had been consumed nearly a day ago and felt grimy with the way it crusted her skin with a _tiny_ dash of dirt. More like covered in soot from the fires. In fact her mouth was dry, even more acutely now that she drew attention to it. Apparently, Barricade had been looking up the meaning when a strong wave of disgust flowed from him a click later.

"_You will release no waste products while inside me or I will throw you off this aircraft!"_

She might have found a big bad robot looking up the meaning of 'relieving ones self' funny if she were in different reality.

"_Then let me out. There's only so long I can hold it," _she hissed back.

Anna glared blindly at the darkness until a soft pop announced before a sliver of light shone down at her. _Freedom_, she thought feverantly and pushed the trunk up further, but not without slow caution. With only her eyes showing she surveyed the outside and noted they were indeed in the bowels of a cargo plane. If she wasn't mistaken it was the same model NEST used to transport the Autobots. There was nothing inconspicuous about the ribbed walls so she slipped out silently and crouched behind the 'Con's aft. She glanced around Barricade's tailgate and saw thick metal chains wrapped around his frame that clipped to the floor. She doubted they were successfully holding him immobile. From her angle Anna could see a couple of NEST soldiers with guns strapped to their backs playing a card game on top of a netted weapons crate. They were only briefly noted when her eyes made sense of the hulking mass to her left. Relief and painful worry clenched in her chest upon recognizing Wheeljack which ruffled distinct displeasure in the 'Con. Wheeljack was in his bipedal form, offline and chained to the floor on his stomach like the giant from Jack and the Beanstalk. Anger burned through her at what the EA had done to her Uncle Jack. They were going to pay, one way or another.

It was now that she could see a large metal beam, charred and twisted sticking out of his back. Blue fluid oozed from the base of the wound she couldn't see and streamed down his sides in thick spidery veins. Most of it looked dried out and turning an odd gray color as it caked the white armor. She visibly winced and she felt her own spine ache at the mere sight of him. Anna had to get Jack free and find a way to escape. Though the thrum of the plane's engines would more than likely cover the sounds of her footsteps, Anna stepped lightly and quickly on the balls of her feet and dashed to his side, ducking between his upturned hand and side. Her pulse jumped in her throat and her tiny hand rested against Wheeljack's massive palm to steady her shaky limbs. His alloy was warm to the touch but his core body was radiating so much heat she could feel it glowing like a fire against her left side. Despite her instincts to pull away, Anna leaned closer to his side and carefully, without touching the feverish metal, listened to the sounds of his inner workings.

Even over the steady hum of the air craft, with her ear so close she could clearly hear an unhealthy sputtering and clicking underneath heavily working cooling fans, or what sounded like fans. The transformers bodies were far too advanced for even the smartest engineers on Earth to understand so any assessment she made was a far cry from being applicable. But if there was one thing even someone like her could tell, it was when a mechanism was working harder than it should have to. Her thoughts instantly went to Ratchet. Jack needed medical attention and fast. A spot of bright blue fluid dripped onto his armor from above and Anna made up her mind. She had to take control of the craft somehow and land them then try to get aholt of the other Autobots. Barricade was going to be an additional headache.

"_What are you doing human?" _Barricade snapped.

Anna glanced over at the faux Saleen and wrinkles of concentration creased her brow.

"_Can you hack the plane's flight controls?" _ Her thought was calm and miraculously panic stricken free. It felt like a wall had been slammed over her feelings and there was nothing but the drive of getting Uncle Jack on the ground and to medical help no matter the cost.

There was a heartbeat of silence before Barricade replied, _"What are you up to human?"_

Coming from the 'con she took that as a definite yes.

"_I need you to land the plane."_

A feral snarl ripped through her mind and she swore it physically vibrated through her limbs. Anna barely managed to restrain her jump as a twitch brought her closer to Wheeljack's overheated frame. "_I don't follow orders from human_s!"

A defensive growl automatically rose in her throat and it took everything she had not to go berserk on him. Taking a steadying breath she said, "Then enlighten me on what you plan to do. Uncle Jack needs Ratchet and even if you sit on your aft I'm not. Be useful or shut up."

Without a voice box to betray her, the thoughts came strong and clear but physically she was shaking more violently by the minute and didn't even trust her legs to stand right that second without fear of toppling over into the drying liquid pooling on the floor. She had to push through her fear and get Barricade to help her somehow or she was farther than sunk. She would be drowning in grief over the loss of _her_ Uncle. Anna didn't care that Jack was in fact one of the aliens that had recently been plaguing her life and never told her. She could understand his need for secrecy and he has never broken any promises with her. He was all she had left and the last being on earth she could trust. For all the times he was there for her, it was her time to be there for him.

"_How 'dare' an insect like you-"_

Anna shifted her hand on Wheeljack's palm to steady her balance and felt the soft and far away thrum of the energy pulsing through his body. It was far too weak for her comfort.

"_Then you can't do it, can you? I bet you couldn't even fly a model airplane."_

Anger vibrated from the 'con like a tangible energy but she was beginning to wonder when he wasn't mad.

"_I have flown the most elite war ships in the Decepticon army. This scrap heap isn't even fit for a transport ship," _he spat.

So he had been a pilot where he came from, perhaps that made him more useful for this predicament.

"_Prove it."_

"_You vile little creature. When I get that power out of you and I'm no longer connected to your bag of flesh I will crush you beneath my fist slowly and painfully while you beg for mercy."_

She didn't doubt he would try and Anna planned to be as far away from him as possible when or if that day came. But for now she was relatively safe.

"_Hah_ a full house!"

Anna peered through Wheeljack's fingers when the brunette soldier shouted in triumph and threw down his hand of cards. His redheaded companion simply groaned and leaned back against a crate.

"I'm sick of this game anyway."

The brunette laughed. "My man, you have the worst luck I have ever seen. Even my grandma can play a better hand."

"Can it Richard, I know you rigged the cards. Somehow."

Richard gave the other soldier a sly grin. "Oh? Can you prove it?"

"So you were cheating! I knew it!"

"I never said I was."

The redhead grimaced and Anna turned her attention from the pair with her lips pressed into a thin line. The only thing that came to mind was to knock the two out and she seriously doubted her ability to do so. Simply waltzing up to them was out of the question as well. Her civilian clothes were all but ruined and many of the N.E.S.T. soldiers at least knew her face. It was hard not to stare at someone who was in constant eye-catching company. Then again, if Barricade could simply hack the system somehow they could be on the ground before any of the soldiers knew what hit them. The haul made a loud creak that had both soldier's heads swiveling to follow the echoes.

"Ah, it's probably just the wind," Richard waved off from some unspoken question.

A second creak came and this time the plane lurched downward and began an unkind yaw to the left. Anna had to grasp whatever she could to keep from falling against the violent vibrations. The plane was not appreciating the strain. She breathed a sigh of relief when the carrier dipped into a steady but controlled dive.

"_That was fast,"_ she sent with a light lith.

A small _humph_ was all the good grace received but for some reason it cracked an upward twitch of lips out of her. The two soldiers who had rolled off their perches scrambled to a stand and pulled their radios to their lips.

"Hey pilot, what the hell's going on up there? Are you trying to kill us?" the Richard balked into the handheld. The only response was static.

"_What is the rest of your idiotic plan once we reach land?"_

Anna blinked and wanted to smack her forehead, or Barricade's if it wouldn't result in the loss of a limb or two. The Decepticon didn't have a plan either. Hypocrite.

"_Just land," _she sent, hoping there was indeed land nearby.

Richard stared at the radio with parted lips but before words could form another voice came over the radio. "Soldiers report! Why is the plane veering off course! And why can't we get in contact with the pilot!"

A garbled response finally broke through but it was impossible to piece together its meaning.

"We don't know ourselves sir. We'll investigate the matter to the best of our abilities." Richard answered quickly as if pretending to be a mind reader. He placed the radio down and nodded sharply to his fellow soldier. "Go and check on the pilot. I'll scout the hold."

Anna sunk lower behind her shelter and began to slowly shuffle backwards. She would have no chance against a gun and with the man on high alert he might simply shoot her out of instinctual surprise. She shuffled around Wheeljack the best she could, already sweating from the intense heat he was giving off. The faux soldier's footsteps echoed closer over the groaning engines. Anna felt her heart hammer harder against her chest and scrambled faster in her crouched position to maneuver around Wheeljack. If she could keep playing ring around the giant Autobot long enough she might get the man to stop actively looking until they landed. She made it around to Wheeljack's opposite side and felt her foot slip. It squeaked against the floor. Anna froze and held her breath but the noise hadn't seemed to have alerted the other human. She picked herself up and made her way to the back of his head and scooted around his girth until she could make out his darkened face. Anna couldn't help stopping to touch his cheek just above his face mask. His complex optics were black and frighteningly dead looking. She had never seen a transformers 'eyes' when they weren't lit up. It made them look more-mechanical-soulless.

A stomping foot snapped Anna's head up and she panicked the guy would turn on her any second. She scrambled past Jack's limb and hoped to duck behind his hand again but a sharp "STOP!" signaled she was caught. Instead of diving for her intended hiding place Anna immediately changed course and darted for Barricade just on her left. The one sprawled out transformer and one in alt mode made the cargo plane a tight fit.

"Stop or I'll shoot!" Richard pulled out a handgun and fired just as Anna dived around Barricade's grill. She pushed her hand on the floor and slammed against the 'Con's front right tire, smacking the back of her head smartly against the side of his hood in the process.

"Cade'!" she hissed sharply. If the Decepticon didn't want her to die because it might possibly extinguish his spark then he would have to move his immobile aft and help her. His frame vibrated against her back and she heard the tall tale sound of whirring gears. A second later gunfire and a ripping scream deafened her already abused and muffled ear drums. Anna could vividly imagine the man she just found out was named Richard being shot up with holes and his flesh ripped away by grazing gun fire. And she had caused his, no matter how inadvertently. A disgusted shiver ran down her spine and for a moment Anna thought she might be sick.

"Richard? Richard! I heard gunshots! Richard, respond!"

Anna tensed at the running footsteps made undoubtedly by the redhead. She screwed her eyes shut. A winded, "Oh my god!" was all she heard before another spray of rounds echoed, followed by the gargled scream. The body thumped to the ground and Anna gripped the fabric of her ash smudged jeans. In the back of her mind she knew those exact sounds would never leave her head. None of this was right. Humans shouldn't be fighting against the Autobots, especially not like this. They were the only things standing solidly between Earth and the Decepticons. Like the one she was pressed up to and shaking slightly against. She wanted to move away from Barricade so badly her body ached but she felt too locked up to do so.

"_Are you still functional?"_ Barricade's harsh voice, though directly in her head, flew right over her locked down state. She didn't even twinge when he roared loud enough several times for Anna to finally comprehend he was speaking to her.

"F-fine," she said quietly. That was a lie. None of this was fine.

She stayed that way the entire decent. Faintly, she would dryly swallow against the changing pressure and hear a burst of garbled words from the dead men's radios. It wasn't until Barricade said "_brace for impact," _that she snapped her head up. He said impact…not landing. Impact what? She wondered but didn't have to for long. The plane gave a violent shake as the wheels touched down and Anna was thrown backwards by the force of the breaks. She helplessly clawed for anything to stop her spinning about the floor as the plane rattled and bounced unnaturally. And she thought Barricade was supposed to be some stellar advanced alien pilot. She crashed against a couple crates and would later thank that whoever strapped them down was the only thing that kept the heavy boxes from coming loose and crushing her. Though there would definitely be some nasty bruises later.

The plane lurched to a halt and Anna had a few seconds to steady her spinning head and catch her breath. A groaning sound came from Barricade before he transformed, snapping the two inch thick chains like they were nothing. Mid transformation a compartment spit out a massive blade that he caught and sliced through the remaining strands like butter. What looked like a claymore to Anna was nothing more than a knife in the deadly 'Con's claws. He glowered down at her for only a klick before walking to the planes aft. He spaced the 'knife' and lifted his arm up with a laser in its place and fired several shots at the closed ramp. The human made metal had no chance against the hot bullets and shred under their fire. Barricade lifted his foot and kicked a larger hole between at the weakened point then tore apart the wall with his bare hands. When he had enough space to fit through he slipped outside.

Once he was out of sight Anna started to look over at Wheeljack when her eyes swept over one of the crumpled bodies that had been flung around by the crash. No matter how fast her eyes darted away it was too late. A glance was all she needed for that image to be burned into her memory. God she might actually need therapy after all this was over.

* * *

**Author's note: **It's 3 in the morning so I'm sure there are some errors in here. Ah well, Enjoy!


	31. Chapter 31

**Author note:** I'll be out of town for the next two weeks where I won't have access to a computer *crawls into a corner whimpers* so I won't be able to update for a bit.

**Warning:** there's a _little_ of explosion of cursing towards the end.

* * *

After the constant assault of explosions and groaning jet engines the silence left in the wake of the plane crash was deafening. All she could recall were the flames and screams on a repeating frequency, being called a traitor to the human race. Anna knew she shouldn't put much stalk in the Old Man's words but they struck her on a level she wasn't aware of having. Anna's ears rang unhappily in the suffocating stillness an even her mind was refusing to provide a sane retreat. She focused on Wheeljack's arm and slowly stood. Consciously, she knew there was a dead body to her right and a limb from the other sticking out from behind a crate, her eyes remained glued to a high point on the opposite wall as she walked over to Wheeljack. Nothing had changed since the landing, he never groaned or twitched, his wound was still leaking blue fluids, and she was growing increasingly worried for her best friend.

Again she thought of using the Allspark power to help him but last time all it seemed to do was start up his systems, leaving him in agony. What good was her Allspark power if all it could do was bring to life homicidal minicons? There had to be some way to contact the Autobots, figure out what was going on and get some help. Anna stopped a foot from Wheeljack's masked face and shivered at the mechanical gaze. Without the soft blue light filling his optics the black pits left behind almost seemed to dehumanize him, if that word could even be applied. It made her realize just how much emotion was conveyed in the optics of a transformer.

She turned her head to the front of the plane and stared at the door leading to the cockpit. There was no telling what Barricade had done to the pilot and frankly she wasn't eager to find out, but then again there might be have been a radio that she didn't have to pry off a dead, bleeding body. Anna took a step forward then stopped. Would using their communication channel be a mistake? It might lead the EA right to her position and then Uncle Jack would be in even more trouble. Anna bit her lip and swiveled to face the jagged hole Barricade had violently made not long ago.

Upon crashing all power had been cut from the plane, dousing its bowls in darkness. Now only natural sunlight filtered through the tear leaving sharp shadows along the ribbed interior. Maybe there was something outside that would help and she could at least stop Uncle Jack's 'bleeding'. The back of her mind reprimanded her sharply, saying there wasn't possibly anything helpful out there but sitting and doing nothing would only eat at her. Without taking her eyes off the only source of light in the cargo hold she walked over smeared blood that stuck to the soles of her shoes like sticky gum and climbed through the improvised exit.

Anna now realized why the landing had been so rough. Her opinion of Barricade being a crappy pilot completely evaporated. The plane was quite literally crashed into the middle of a pine forest. Somehow Barricade hand managed to find a space on the ground just wide enough to not the shred the entire machine on the towering trees though its nose was still crushed into a vice of tree trunks. The wings were gruesomely twisted and large chunks of paneling, if not whole sections, had been ripped away to reveal sensitive wiring that dangled loose in some places. She scanned the trees and marked the impressive trail of entry through the damaged foliage. It would have taken an incredible pilot to fly through such a hazardous area with a fragile plane and not completely impale it on the lanky trees. This place could have been anywhere in the world but she at least hoped it was on American soil. Anna walked in the direction she thought was north, and in the complete opposite direction she felt Barricade in. His processor was buzzing a mile a minute but she couldn't make any sense of it, nor did she particularly want to. He would refuse to repair Uncle Jack and she didn't trust the 'con as far as she could throw him. Barricade was just white noise in the back of her mind.

Anna walked until the crash site was just out of visual, which wasn't far considering the dense trees, then all but fell with her back against a tree. The bark scratched through her shirt and tore at the skin underneath until she planted her feet in the dry soil, hardly registering the lingering sting. Leaning heavily against the trunk, she gazed at the cloud spotted sky between the green trees and closed her eyes. There really was nothing she could do for Uncle Jack and she had to tell herself several times that the other Autobots were nowhere close or in any position to help. She wondered if any of them were in a similar shape to Uncle Jack or had been offlined all together. Ironhide and Sideswipe, both of their faces flashed. Anna's chest tightened and a small sob ripped free of her throat but that was all she accidentally let slip. It felt like a wall was still blocking out a portion of her mind, leaving the world in an emotional fog. Barricade on the other hand was for once something other than a hot energy of anger. He seemed indifferent to the whole situation and didn't care either way. She wondered for a moment if he was really anything more than just a machine. But that was impossible, the transformers were in fact complex creatures just like humans were, and yet so different.

"Annabelle Swift."

Her eyes darted open to a towering black and white mech who was definitely _not _Barricade. The two optics that stared skeptically down at her were cyan and his overtone voice was strikingly monotone. Prowl, her mind placed surprisingly fast, especially considering how little she'd interacted with the mech. Anna didn't care he nearly scared the bejesus out of her or seemed to have appeared out of thin air, she was too glad to see a face that might actually help. Besides, she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Anna stood up straighter and tilted her head to gaze into his optics. "Prowl?" she asked just to be sure.

"Correct."

Anna leapt away from the tree and practically leapt a few steps towards the way of the crash site before stopping and looking back him.

"Where are you going?" he asked with sharp authority that hardly phased her at the moment.

"Come with me! Please! Uncle Jack needs help, bad." She wasn't proud of how desperate her dry throat made her sound.

Prowl's optics brightened and he snapped his gaze to the trees behind her. "What is the situation?"

Anna glanced over her shoulder and beckoned the mech to follow but when she tried to take a step he stopped her with a wall that was his hand. She glared up at him. "I'll tell you on the way."

"No. You will tell me here, now."

Anna sighed but complied without argument. "He's unconscious with a beam shoved into his back and there's a lot of blue fluid leaking out. He's making some loud noise like a fan too. He hasn't woken up and I don't know what to do." Her eyes suddenly found the forest floor more interesting than the alien in front of her. She hardly knew Prowl but there had to be _something_ he could do.

"Is Barricade in the vicinity?" The SIC asked sharply.

Anna pointed through the trees ahead of them. "He's somewhere over there. I don't know what the hell he's doing and frankly I don't give a shit," she bit sharply into her bottom lip at the harsh tone of her voice and tried to squash the urgency and frustration beginning to control her mouth.

Prowl's optics seemed to narrow but he didn't comment on her crude choice of words. "Tell me. Why did the humans attack?"

Anna ground her teeth. Now was not the time to play questions and answers! "It was an extremist group who wants to get rid of both Autobots and Decepticons so they suicide bombed the base."

A small sound escaped Prowl but Anna couldn't place what it was. "Where did they take the Autobots? And for what purpose?" he clipped.

Was he getting annoyed or was that her imagination? Her dad's words would always get shorter and calmer the madder he got. Yep, this Autobot was getting short with her. Anna stopped grinding and clamped her teeth on the sucked in skin of her cheek. "I. Don't. Know." Her voice cracked and she bit even harder, drawing blood. Prowl's face began to blur and her eyes burned horribly. With quick fingers she swiped harshly at her lids and wiped away a threatening spill of tears with offense.

"Are you going to come help Unc-Wheeljack or not!" She glared at the Autobot, daring him to say a word about her tears, or even worse, about not helping her uncle. There went her self control.

"Very well, Show me to Wheeljack." He lifted his hand away and Anna didn't need any more encouragement to rush back towards the plane.

Prowl kept up easily, brushing aside branches and never once bumping a tree, and oddly he walked slow enough to stay a few steps behind Anna. She didn't give much thought to it and felt her heart hammering in her chest again with the hope of saving Jack. When they reached the crash site she pointed towards the plane almost shaky with a new shot of adrenaline. "He's inside."

Prowl stopped and surveyed the crash site for such a short time he seemed to only be hesitating before quickening his steps past Anna. She scrambled to keep up and had to wait for the bulky Autobot to squeeze through Barricade's improvised exit before clambering over the jagged hole herself. Prowl stopped again for no more than a click, taking in the surroundings. Anna tried to follow his rapidly moving optics but jerked away when they fell on the dead man face down in his own blood. She missed Prowl's reaction, if there was one at all, since he never made a sound or commented on the gruesome site. He almost seemed to brush the deaths off as nothing. Anna was thankful the other body was out of site from her lower vantage point. It didn't matter how many she had seen in the last couple months between the carrier and the base blowing up, every dead human was another awful image that would never leave her head, ever. At least these two didn't smell like charred flesh. Anna grimaced and followed Prowl over to Wheeljack, keeping a respectable distance and keenly avoiding the dead.

Prowl stared at Wheeljack, gently prodding around the wound to assess the damage, and Anna could have sworn she saw his door panels stiffen. The movement, however subtle, fabricated by her mind or not, made her own heart clench. She didn't dare speak in fear of interrupting any important analysis which left the silence thick enough to slice through. Anna didn't know Prowl at all and she had no reason to trust him, or mistrust him. Either way, right now he was a hell of a lot better alternative than Barricade when it came to injured Autobots.

"The damage is extensive."

Anna's eyes flickered up to Prowl who was eyeing her stockly and blew out a breath she hadn't known shed been holding only to suck in another sharp intake of air to hold. "Can he be…" she struggled for the word, "repaired?"

"I can do emergency repairs but he needs advanced medical help, soon," He said without wavering his optics.

Anna felt her heart sink "Ratchet," she said quietly and automatically. Oh how the times had changed. Ratchet probably would have painted his armor pink and turned into a fembot if he knew just how much faith Anna put into his abilities, a cybertronian of all things. She didn't know just how much faith until his was the first name to slip from her mouth. In fact all she had been thinking about this whole time was getting Uncle Jack to the sour medic. Maybe she would grow fifteen feet high and turn all metal instead. They really were genially trying to help. Yep, Ironhide would definitely be shooting Nerf darts instead of plasma rounds now. Her mouth twitched but quickly sobered. Anna hung her head and _prayed_ the Autobots would be alright.

"Prowl? How did you escape?" She hadn't initially cared how he suddenly popped up but couldn't help being curious. It would at least be something to fill her head with.

Prowl didn't turn around or shift from what he was doing but Anna heard him loud and clear all the same. "I attached to the bottom of the human aircraft in hopes of reaching the attacker's destination undetected. Unfortunately the cargo plane was hacked into and crashed by Barricade."

"Rough landing huh?" she asked with dry humor.

He added nothing else for conversation so Anna wrapped her arms around herself and watched his work intently. Why had the EA done all of this? What had anyone done to deserve that…that disaster? It was wrong, all so, so wrong. The Autobots where here to help humanity, not hurt it. Humans were caught up in their war but it wasn't the Autobots fault, it was chance that brought both warring factions down on earth. It was chance she wound up on the attacked carriers. It was chance that she had become infected with the Allspark, thus being linked to the angry, heartless Decepticon. What was it they were after anyway? Sideswipe mentioned the Decepticons wanted nothing but power and mass destruction but Anna couldn't see them as simply being chaos loving. There had to be something else driving them, but what? Human politics were nasty enough and were usually tied to wars, there was always another motive.

"We're not all like them," She said it so softly Anna was surprised when Prowl suddenly stopped soldering something in Wheeljack's back and turned around to gaze at her in favor.

"Elaborate," It wasn't sharp, it wasn't really a question. His voice sounded completely neutral though at the same time a demand; and oddly enough it didn't bother her one bit.

Anna slowly lifted her eyes to meet his optics. "Not all humans are like the EA. I don't know why they turned out so screwed up in the head but we're not all like them."Anna didn't know why she was defending humanity to this alien but a small part of her desperately didn't want to be associated with the murdering group. Tyler. Her eyes flickered over his face so quickly she felt a jolt before sinking her head again.

Prowl again didn't say anything but she could hear the fizzling of the solder going to work again. She focused on making her mind as blank as possible by imagining a black void where nothing existed. Anna went blissfully numb until a shrill sound and a speeding red light shot overhead and burst into a surprised Prowl. The Autobot stumbled backwards, dropping the soldering tool to briefly clutch his side, and crouched low to the ground. Anna whipped to the exit and stared up at Barricade's four ruby optics with his girth standing halfway in the entrance with a blaster pointed straight at Prowl.

Anna's eyes sharpened to a glare and anger all her own ripped through them. "Stop!"

Prowl removed a weapon of sort from his back and launched at the Decepticon trying to climb his way in. He crashed into Barricade and sent both of them tumbling outside. Anna scrambled to her feet and raced for the entrance, hopping over the exit and running broadly around the tousling cybertronions. At least out here they couldn't injure Wheeljack further, she mused fleetingly. Barricade smashed Prowl over the head with his fist and tried to reach for something but he was forced to halt to grab hold of an arm bearing down with a deadly looking sword before it could slice through his cranial. They scrambled at the ground, digging massive divots in the dirt, and kicking up large chunks of forest that Anna dived around a tree to avoid. She tried to keep up with the fight but they were so fast all she could really make out was a jumble of black and white flailing and sparking after each contact. Mechanical tones of growls and undoubtedly alien curses were thrown about in a way that made her head throb.

Finally, Barricade managed to kick Prowl off and jumped to his feet while extending the tire at his arm to activate the deadly weapon Anna had seen only once before. Prowl barely had enough time to catch his bearings before blocking Barricade's slicing blow with his own sword. The rotating spikes forced Prowl to switch his blade broadside to bounce and spark dangerously against the saw's teeth; he was slowly loosing length as it inched towards him. Prowl shoved Barricade's weapon to the side with a powerful heave leaving him exposed to a punch that he fluidly dodged. The SIC took Barricade's stumbling recovery as a chance to drop down and sweep the 'con's feet out from underneath. Barricade fell with a crash that shook the forest floor. Anna gasped at a sharp pain shooting up her back and fell to her knees, feeling again as Prowl stabbed his sword into Barricade's shoulder. Anna couldn't help but scream in agony along with Barricade as she _felt _the bite of the blade. The con recovered far faster than her and kicked out at Prowl, forcing the Autobot to stumble backwards into a tree, splintering it. The foliage dominoed and knocked down a second tree before they both crashed noisily to the ground. Barricade leapt to his feet again and pulled the blade out with a stinging rip that had Anna hissing and clutching her shoulder. With an aimed throw he slung the blade at the SIC and Anna watched it sink right between his chest plates. Blue energon gushed from the open wound causing momentary shock to light up Prowl's optics but he merely stumbled before launching for Barricade again.

Barricade whirled around to kick Prowl away and took off at an awkward run, sawing trees down in his wake before scooping a shocked Anna into his claw and outright sprinting. Her immediate reaction was to grab aholt of a digit and hang on for dear life. In fact, she wrapped her whole body around the deadly talon and whipped her head side-to-side in a vain attempt to make sense of the rushing scenery while cursing violently in her head. Anna could hear more trees falling and the heavy footsteps of the Autobot behind them as well as Barricade stomping against the forest floor. Anna tried to look down but the claws closed closer in on her, all but forcing her away from the single digit that was her lifeline and became caged in his palm. She caught a glimpse of the forest below before her heart nearly stopped seconds before Barricade leapt with a ripping yell that was drowned out by Anna's own scream. Time seemed to stop and she had to force her eyes shut as they fee fell down a massive cliff. Barricade cradled his claws to his chest and rolled into a ball that bounced painfully against the rocky cliffside.

Anna could feel every impact as if it were _her_ colliding with the dirt and she couldn't make sense of up or down anymore as they tumbled head over heels in a gut wrenching fall. She felt a sharp, painful jerk that vibrated throughout her before the world spun in a way she thought impossible. Barricade slammed into the road at the bottom of the cliff, knocking a passing Mazda trying to screech to a stop down an adjacent cliff, and transformed hastily in a shower of sparks. Anna screamed and clawed at the black leather interior she suddenly found herself slung into but a tight seatbelt cutting off her air and throwing her back stopped her abruptly.

Barricade fishtailed in an attempt to gain control and flipped on his sirens as he took off moments before Prowl came tumbling down the cliff face as well. The SIC transformed just as fluidly and followed after Anna and Barricade with his own sirens wailing. Anna gripped the driver's seat so hard her knuckles were turning white. She whipped her head to the side mirror and glanced at Prowl close on their afts before whipping back around to the front. There was a green van not even seconds ahead on the two lane road that tried to swerve at the sight of Barricade racing up behind them. The 'con clipped the vehicles bumper, sending it into a spin as he passed, and into oncoming traffic that screeched to a crashing halt resulting in a three car pile-up.

Other human drivers tried to dive into opposite lanes of traffic panic to avoid Barricade until there was a logger truck moving slowly ahead. Barricade swerved blindly around it and Anna screamed as he bull rushed a Mini Cooper. Anna saw the terrified woman driving the vehicle before it nose dived into Barricade's grill. The front in smashed inwards and the airbags deployed, hiding the wide-eyed driver from view just as the vehicle flew straight over them, aft end up and landed upside down behind them in a squeal of sparking metal against concrete. Prowl whipped around the logging truck the same moment and received a windshield full of the little car, both lurching to a halt. The same instant the logger truck on their left swerved into the cliffside and bounced right back at them from the force. Barricade gunned ahead of the careening truck and Anna helplessly watch the eighteen wheeler fall on its side and slide halfway down the cliff on the opposite side of the highway.

She slammed her skull into the headrest and closed her eyes for a nano-click. "Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God," she breathed in and out hysterically. Barricade darted around the cars in both lanes, never once letting up on his speed, and careened down the twisting mountain path that had Anna slamming painfully into his door at every jerked turn. Once she cracked her head so hard against the windshield all she could see were spots. Barricade tightened the seatbelt so painfully close but at least she didn't ragdoll into the door again.

He kept driving as if Unicron himself were on his tail until they had breached the mountains base. Barricade slowed down significantly, switching off his sirens, and swerved into the forest the moment Anna could make out the sign of a town she didn't recognize and he drove through the bumpy woods. She hissed in pain for him as every bush and flying rock scratched and clanged against his sensitive undercarriage and ended with a small whimper. She just desperately wanted this ride from hell to stop.

The constant pain seemed to last forever until Barricade finally pulled back onto a road and sped up to a constant ten miles over the speed limit. Anna tried to take the time to breathe in and out, counting her breaths and the throbbing of the heart in her throat. She was shaking too, uncontrollably so. Barricade's frame rattled increasingly harsher in tangent until he slammed to a stop on the barren stretch of country road, and spit Anna out onto the concrete before transforming unsteadily. The 'con clamped a clawed hand to his cranial in the same place Anna felt hers throbbing and nearly fell over several times as his frame shook so hard Anna could hear his metal plates clanging together.

"Get a hold of yourself femme!" He snarled viciously.

His anger ripped through her terror like a searing flame, or really strong hormones and she latched onto it like a bad case of PMS. "Shut the fuck up! Shut the fuck up! you're an ass and-" she spewed of every curse word she could come up with for the Decepticon even if she looked like a groveling human on her shaking hands and knees.

"Fragging femme! Don't know how to control you emotions-" Barricade added his own two cents in a spew of curses that flipped over to cybertronian and back to English until they were both out of profanities to fling and were merely panting.

Anna flopped her aching back onto the concrete and just stared up at the sky while trying to catch her breath. It was officially confirmed. Any damage to him would hurt like slag to her too and most likely vice versa. "So what's the plan _now_ sir runs-a-lot?"

Barricade glared at the human with a twitch of his optics and growled from where he sat against a tree bending under his own weight but hardly had the strength to do much more and she knew it. "None of your business fleshy."

Anna lolled her head to the side and glared right back at him, the hot cement stinging her cheek. "Fuck you."

A horn blared.

Anna bolted up, but before she could react Barricade shot the incoming car and it blew up into a hot fiery ball. Anna winced when a couple raining car parts bounced around her and a strong waft of burning fuel assaulted her nose.

"Perfect. Oh just _perfect_! Let's just kill _everyone_!" She screeched, borderline hysteric.

"Only if they get in the way," the 'con added eerily matter of fact.

Anna watched the burning car from where she stood until she heard Barricade shifting. He transformed into a Saleene cruiser that that had various dents and scratches and popped open his door.

"Get in," his speakers bombed out.

"Hell no," she shot right back with crossing arms.

"Get the frag in before I force you!"

Even after his snarl died Anna stared into his alt form in a ticking silence before she sighed and climbed in. there was nothing she could do to stop him so she might as well follow, for now, and try to figure out just what he planned to do next. She tried to pull the seatbelt down but it wouldn't give.

"Move over," he barked.

Anna shot his steering wheel a nasty glare, straight at the Decepticon emblem in the center, before scooting over to the passenger seat. The door swung shut of its own and he took off down the road.

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**Author note:** Geez, I've never written that extensive of an action scene before. I'm usually horrible at them but I'm rather proud of how Barricade and Prowl's skirmish turned out.


	32. Chapter 32

**Author note: **I love the heat…but this is ridiculous! We've been in the triple digits with exploding water mains and rolling blackouts...so fun! *sticks fan in face* My heart goes out to the farmers and ranchers. I really pushed to get this chapter out before school started. Hell only knows when I'll be able to post again.

**To Lunatic Glare **(b/c reply is turned off): Thank you for pointing out a myriad of problems! Yes I have some "special" spelling errors mixing up alike words, partially words fault, mostly mine, and I did notice a lack of engaging dialogue at the beginning of this story. This is my first attempt at writing a lengthy story so hopefully you've noticed a positive change over the chapters. Especially since my goal is to grow as a writer through this piece. I'll definitely have to go back and clean up the mistakes, perhaps touch up scenes along the way too as you suggested.

Thanks so much for all of yall's reviews!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own transformers

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The more she thought about it the more stupid she felt; Idiotic, embarrassed, uncontrolled, and above all, ashamed. All children knew what it felt like to be scolded for an outburst. Perhaps in a red faced fit they would throw a tightly compacted piece of lined paper, crinkled to just the right roundness. The white ball would make a satisfying thump upon impacting its target who in turn would glare black. Some children would be put in a silent corner or passively told not to do it again, but if Anna had thrown it her parents would whirl on her in such a way that she might as well have thrown a knife or grenade. Their words would be harsh through a carrying snarl; overriding Anna's opened mouth attempts at an explanation. The only thing she could do was lock her suddenly itchy eyes with their judging glares and fidget with her nails behind her back, chew the inside of her cheek, and weather the berating. The world would always feel suddenly choking and she had feared being carted off to a remote prison and locked up for life, or the world might simply implode from her violation.

Her parents weren't around but, here, now staring at the dense pine forest sweeping by in waves of rocky outcroppings, Anna could just picture being grilled for her earlier actions. And possibly, everything she had done since meeting the Autobots leading all the way up to her last foolish outburst with Barricade. She had been disrespectful to the Autobots and on more than one occasion said things that would have had her aft swatted until it turned an angry red. She was darned lucky anything Barricade did to her would hurt him as well, making physical harm on her behalf strictly off limits, for now. She had no illusions in her mind that he would eventually try to kill her, he had said so himself.

Anna recalled all the times she's been short with the Decepticon, if not downright blowing him off, and then _cursing_ at the alien had Anna's stomach in knots. She wasn't sure why she was regretting everything _now_, so late in the game as it were. Not regretting exactly, she corrected, _ashamed_. She should have been able to control her anger better like a responsible adult, all this time. Instead she had been using this rage as a crutch. Barricade's brutal nature only added fuel to her already highly flammable emotions but that shouldn't have been an excuse. Right now all she wanted to do was crawl into a hole and never come out; perhaps the world imploding wouldn't be such a bad thing. At least then she wouldn't have to look her death sentence in the eye.

The seatbelt suddenly tightened, eliciting a gasp from Anna as it bit into her throbbing, uninjured shoulder and her chest twisted painfully with the hitch of her throat. She glanced wearily at the dash then darted her eyes to the empty driver seat. The Decepticon symbol, a sharp mask that resembled a glaring fox gleamed silver against the black interior, its shine altering with the minute tilts of the wheel.

"Stop that incessant…thing you're doing. _Now_," Barricade rumbled sharply but tapered off awkwardly, if not a bit strangled before punctuating.

"Huh?" Anna breathed out of her stupor. Her shoulder was burning from the pressure in a way Barricade had to of felt but he held firm. Anna couldn't help but swallow a hard lump that could have been her jumping heart. How had she possibly offended him this time? Now that she was paying attention she could have sworn his frame was rattling just a little bit more violently than it should have, almost in waves, like a vibrating shiver. It was hard not to notice the smallest of changes when being self-conscious of sitting inside a living being, one that she could share physical pain with.

"Whatever the frag is glitching in your systems, fix it!" His speakers crackled unhealthily.

Anna blinked at the fox symbol. "_Glitch_?" she voiced incredulously. _What the frag was he talking about?_

He didn't say anything for an uncomfortable minute, with the anticipation building in her chest like a tight knot until Barricade's frame most _definitely_ shuttered. He let out a pained groan that tapered off into a snarl, a strange combination of sounds that had Anna's nose wrinkling in more confusion. There were no hints to explain his sudden odd behavior, there wasn't any pulsing anger or…really anything from him other than the glow of his presence. Even the throb of his shoulder was dulled.

"I know the malfunction isn't coming from me!" he barked and slammed on his breaks, dumping Anna painfully onto the pine needles lining the road mid transformation.

She screeched upon contact and began nursing the angry burn now on her elbow. "What is your problem?"

She thought the 'con would be against harming her but every time she got hurt Barricade showed little to no reaction. Maybe it would only be her who would die if he somehow offlined. She did only have a small piece of his spark after all; perhaps he had enough to live on. The thought scared her more than she was comfortable with but there was no time to dwell on it. Anna stood just as Barricade's ped slammed into the pavement, buckling the gray rock like tissue paper. His angry optics glared down at her and Anna fought the urge to look away. She locked on the four burning coals and blanked her face, vaguely aware of a certain stuffiness to the air. The tightness in her chest eased somewhat and the pressure she felt hanging over her like a cloud vanished. Mercifully, nothing rushed in to take its place.

Barricade demanded, "Are you malfunctioning or is your processor damaged?" He leaned closer but Anna didn't flinch. She just kept staring through his optics, her mind reeling back to her apartment, undestroyed. Anna could just imagine her mother cursing at a bubbling stove, Kaden sleeping stretched out on the couch, and loud music blaring from her bedroom. What if a knock came at the door? Would Kaden swivel his head to alertness and pull his lips back in a snarl upon sensing a seeping malintent? The 'knocker' would shoot the lock off the door and kick the flimsy barrier aside causing Kaden to jump to his feet and begin barking raucously. Mom would merely yell, "Turn it down!" thinking the gunfire was part of one of Anna's games or the TV. The stranger at the door would fire at Kaden as the Doberman lunged but would miss and be tackled to the floor with tearing fangs and claws at their face, screaming as they fell.

Something, white and blinding ripped across Anna's eyes and erased the apartment and skirmish between dog and faceless man, filling the new void with glitching Cybertronian letters. She stumbled backwards, blinking harshly and shaking her head to force the images, persistent as the aftereffects of staring at the sun too long, away. Her retreating heel clinked against a solid object, then what could have only been Barricade's taloned servos encircled her body in an almost too loose grip and lifted her into the air with a jerk. Disorientation and butterflies rose in her stomach upon her inability to see the movement and she promptly tried to clench the fists of her pinned arms. Anna focused on her breathing, in and out, in and out, with still no strong reaction breaking through. Finally, the contorting sheet of unreadable symbols began to slow and the whiteness sluggishly dissipated. Gripped at Barricade's chassis level, Anna could see the 'con pushing his free palm against his optics and upper cranial, something she highly wished her hands were free to do, and his features were wrinkled in obvious pain.

Barricade removed his hand, made a tight fist that ground loudly against metal joints, and glared off at the ground as if _it_ had given him the headache. "Frag it," he spat then looked sharply at Anna, all four optics narrowing behind the flickering bars that made up his lids. She flinched but remained tight lipped. Perhaps now was it. He would tighten his grip with slowly building pressure until her bones creaked and snapped, spilling crimson blood down his talons as they curled in and slashed her organic body. This time, Barricade flinched in a way more acute to a spasm and dropped Anna. She landed on all fours as he took a step back, shredding new craters in the concrete, and they stared at each other. _Well?_ She thought.

Anna swallowed against her dry throat and was surprised at her own voice. "You're not going to kill me?" Surprised that she sounded disappointed.

Barricade sneered, "Are you fragged up in the processor human?"

"You…saw that?" Anna licked her lips and finally identified the heavy feeling in the air by smelling rain in the wind.

Barricade made a fist with his talons and shook. "I don't know what the _frag_ I saw! All I know is something is malfunctioning in your chest compartment!" His metallic pitch was laid over by a rumble of thunder.

"There's nothing wrong with my chest. Or your oh so special _spark_," she made a point to bite the last word. He didn't give a rats ass about her, he only cared about the well being of that pulsing thing suffocating her own heart.

Barricade lunged forwards; stooping his head to Anna's level until his barred fangs and rapidly spinning optic spokes were only inches from her face. "The frag there isn't!" he roared. More thunder rolled in the distance.

Anna narrowed her eyes and with a subdued tone, "It isn't something you can just fix with a soldering gun or stream of code." Then snorted humorlessly, "It would be nice if all of life's problems could be fixed that way, wouldn't it?"

A drop of rain splashed her forehead and a second spotted the Decepticon's horned crest and slid down his brow. Barricade gave a frustrated bellow and sharply withdrew, transforming to his alternate mode in a flurry of parts. His passenger door opened and his voice radiated from the speakers. "Get the frag in. We need to find a more secure location."

Anna had barely seated herself before his tires screeched, her nose with the pungent smell of burning rubber, and he shot down the road. Anna forcibly buckled her seat belt and looked up through the tinted windows, wondering when the dark clouds had started to roll in.

The rain was coming down steadily by the time they rolled into a small country town. Barricade's headlights pierced through the sheet of water, skimming over yellow lit streetlamps and a darkened string of antique shops. Anna peered up through the splattered windshield to a house where she could see a second story room softly illuminated. She wondered who lived there and envied their ignorance to what was passing just outside their home. Their world was still intact and chugging along at a blissfully boring pace. Barricade through a small throng of homes, past a lit up McDonalds with one late night visitor, and turned into a broken down warehouse on the edge of the tiny town. His wheels rocked to a halt and his engine wound to a quiet purr, blanketing the abandoned building in darkness. Anna glanced down at the glowing consul, staring blankly at it for a few quietly passing minutes.

Finally, she broke the silence. "Is there a reason we've stopped?"

A small shudder ran through Barricade's frame, maybe from irritation, maybe from pain, she couldn't tell. "My systems are still in a state of repair after what you humans did," was all he said before falling silent again.

Anna laid her hand on the door and unsuccessfully tried to open it. She gave a small huff, "Let me out. I need some air."

The door clicked without argument, she wasn't about to start one by questioning the 'con, so Anna slowly stepped out onto the cracked floor. She allowed her eyes to adjust, the only light being from the street lamps and emergency lights across the street, then scanned the broken down building. There were holes in the rotting roof and walls, allowing sheets of rain to penetrate the degrading structure. Forgotten piles of wood planks pilled high in several places were uneven where the wood had softened and fallen away. Her feet slid in the thin layer of mud, most likely from dust previously collected on the concrete, and she placed her hand on what she thought was a wooden box or crate. With her hand clutching the top for support, she bent down and looked in where a side of the box had been removed. There was a splintered hole in the back of it and what might have been a spiders web shined back at her. Normally she would be disgusted but it was dry inside and in no way a part of Barricade. Anna used her foot to kick the dust and whatever insects might have been taking refuge in the darkened space out and crawled in. She laid down, hugging her knees to her chest to fit, trying not to think of what she might be laying on, and closed her eyes. Her ears were ringing with the drilling rain.

Kaden was dead. Her Doberman, her puppy that had been a gift from her father, had been shot right in front of her eyes. Anna could remember the day her dad brought home the lanky black pup, especially bred, and barely a year old. He had been a birthday present since Anna had desperately wanted a dog since she was little. She loved Kaden to pieces even though her stupid dad couldn't just get any normal ol' dog. He had to buy a guard dog with an excuse about her needing protection with him overseas all the time. Now that she thought about it, with Wheeljack around the idea was laughable. She already had a sort of guard dog, albeit a quirky and seemingly airheaded one. Trust her dad to always blow everything out of proportion.

He was dead too, her dad. She didn't see how he died, drowned, speared through by shrapnel, crushed by some machinery or some other grotesque form. But it didn't matter because he was gone. Everything among the chaos had been so abrupt she wasn't sure how to make heads or tails of what was happening between the Decepticon attacked carriers and meeting the Autobots, everything had felt so surreal. Her world didn't exist anymore, she knew that now. After trying to go home for a short amount of time, time that felt like the blink of an eye or an inserted memory, she realized then that it was all real and there was no escape from reality. The apartment she grew up in was gone, blasted to pieces, and she would probably never see Lisa again, maybe not even her mom.

Her whole life had been a lie. Uncle Jack had always been the transformer named Wheeljack, but she didn't blame him. He was family and always would be, he someone even closer to her than her own father. Jack had always been there, when she had skinned knees, had to deal with bullies, took care of her when she got sick, tutored her for school, brought home all kinds of fun gizmos that had a habit of exploding, and played video games with her for hours on end. He wasn't dead yet but the horrible condition he was in when Barricade ripped her away from his side had her chest heaving. Everyone was dying and everything was literally exploding around her. Visions of the Old Man racing forwards with bombs strapped to his body flashed.

Anna wondered what she had left, if there was anything to really stick around for. She was bound by life force to a monster in ways she didn't understand. Weird alien tongues would pop into her head for seemingly no reason, mini terminators would come to life and try to kill her, and above all, she was terrified.

Tears poured down her face and choked sobs ripped past her airway between gasps. She'd cracked her own damn with a sledgehammer and released everything that had been screaming to come out.

Earth was the very definition of dirt and Barricade couldn't have named the planet any better himself. The swirling spear was filled with the filth composed of decaying plant and animal materials. On a normal day the organic material was tolerable, but when the atmosphere spilled condensation it turned those decomposed parts into a sticky substance that loved to gunk up his undercarriage. It stuck like tar, collecting whatever it touched along the way and managed to find every crevice that _hurt_ between his gears. His warning systems were already lighting up across the grid from the damage those humans had done to his spark chamber and his earlier scuffle, had drained a portion of his energon reserves. The line cut from Prime's second in command had long since sealed itself off but the wound was still open and subject to the elements.

Usually he had little to no trouble navigating in the dark with the night function he could adapt to his exterior optics but the rain made any visible aids a poor source to rely on. Regrettably, poor visibility made him a bit nervous. His short range scanners had been functioning at top capacity ever since he broke through the Autobot's hastily constructed lockdown code, but he didn't dare use any long range devices. He had a mission to complete and after Megatron's mistake of underestimating the humans Barricade didn't want to take any chances. He'd seen firsthand how the humans could surprise and decimate even a small unit. The human species was violent and highly unpredictable race, and that was exactly why he was keeping a close optic on the female who for the last couple of earth cycles had been exhibiting odd behavior.

She'd been following her usual patterns of passive aggressive behavior up until growing unexplainably and abruptly silent. Not only outwardly but the accursed link they shared seemed to have also dampened. Her constant irritation – why no matter the species were femmes constantly irritated! - and spontaneous moments of joy or fruitless animalistic fear that plagued his processor like a glitched code, were suddenly gone. Normally he would consider her silence a primus given gift, his favorite time being when she was in stasis just before the erratic REM stage of sleep, but there was something about this conscious 'quiet' that just unnerved him.

Transformers didn't have an off switch to their emotional center which resided nowhere in the hardware of their frame, it was something that couldn't be altered unless someone tampered with the spark itself, and spark tampering typically ended in deactivation ninety seven percent of the time. Even so, somehow, this organic creature with no programming or its own spark to create emotions from had suddenly become void as a drone. At the same time Barricade could feel the ghost of a building pressure in his chest that became more painful the longer he brushed it off. He tried to endure it, writing the twinge off as just another pain to add to his aches the internal repair system could handle later, but it never ceased. A hand might as well have punched into his chest and began to slowly squeeze the very life out his throbbing spark. His internal systems were searching desperately for the source of his spark's distress but each rapid scan came up empty. His entire frame was wracked with sharp pins and needle pain by the time he figured the only possibility was a malfunction from the female, or perhaps the piece of his spark she held hostage was reacting badly inside its host. Frag if he knew.

The human provided no further insight when he questioned her; he only caught extraneous flashes of moving images that overrode his optical sensors. At first he thought them to be possibly from a glitching memory bank as he caught glimpses of that annoying barking mammal, but then that image of her bleeding and crushed in his talons seared into his memory core. He wasn't sure if he'd imagined the image or the human, it had flickered so briefly, but there was no mistaking its origin as a conscious stream of thought. This 'link' was turning out to be full of more processor aches than he was ready for. He was a Decepticon for pits sake, with orders to carry out! This human was worse than a hindrance, it was a weakness.

An internal alarm glared through his cortex with nearly the same grating force the Allspark had induced when his vision glitched to nothing but indecipherable characters. Cursing, he briefly allowed his sensors to scan the nearby buildings for life. With the way his systems were overheating he had no choice but to find a place to bunker down for a few joors, preferably out of this accursed rain and congealing mud. The best alternative appeared to be a neglected warehouse off the immediate street. It was behind a boarded up storefront decorated with sloppy graffiti that blurred in his turning headlights.

The human stirred from her near comatose state and had mustered the comprehension to question him after his breaks hissed thankfully to a stop. He cut all major functions and sank on his axles with a groan. Every ache and stabbing pain let itself known in the following silence broken only by the drumming rain. Try as he might to avoid the dripping ceiling it was impossible to situate his alternate form where the cold liquid didn't ping against his armor. It would have been more comfortable to transform but his signature would be easier to track and if by the unlikely chance a human stumbled in while he was resting in his true form there would be little he could do to defend himself at short notice. At least the human ceased whatever had been painfully squeezing his spark.

As if rattled by the his mere thought of her, which would be absurd, the female grabbed aholt of Barricade's door handle and demanded to be let out. If his audios weren't playing tricks then he could have sworn her voice was hollower than he'd ever heard it. The 'con wasn't in the mood to fight with the organic that apparently wanted space, he wasn't about to begrudge their apparently shared wish at the moment. Primus knew they needed it, and as wrong and illogical as it sounded, he simply knew she wasn't about to make a break for it. Still, his sensors wearily watched her take in the darkened surroundings before crawling into a rotting storage box. To him she was still in plain sight but the human laid with her back to him that gave both of them a small sense of privacy. He relaxed, finally, and began shutting off all unimportant functions.

His chest began to twinge again in light spasms he stonily ignored. Pressure was building in his chest that reminded him of a slab of machinery that had once landed directly over his spark chamber, rapidly crushing the vital protection surrounding it. He shuddered back to full alertness and scanned the human through a burning pain that took to searing through his pumps. Then, all at once, his sensors overloaded, forcing him to transform. Pure, sorrowful _agony_ ripped through his spark. It was a feeling he'd not experienced in a long, long time but even then, never to this extent. It was the raw emotion of lamenting things lost, things that would never return no matter how much you wanted it to. It was a communal dirge pouring out of one soul that bleed all others dry.

Flashes of the people and places precious to the human female flashed with a mix of unbidden memories long forgotten behind triple encrypted firewalls. Barricade stumbled, crashing loudly into a pile of debris, and before he knew what he was doing, the human was encased in his claws and pressed to his aching chest plate. Even more out of his control, a thick, watery fluid drained from his optics and added to the mess of rainwater pooling the ground. It was all he could do to ride out the gouging storm.

Anna felt like her head had been put through a blender. Her sinuses made it hard to breath and her brain practically pounded against her skull. She rubbed her sticky eyes open and froze. A rush of relief blew out her mouth upon seeing Barricade's unnervingly close optics offlined. He sat against the wall with his head dipped deep into his chassis and his claws interestingly enough cradled her firmly against the grill to his alt mode. His systems rumbled warmly under the metallic skin that Anna noticed for the first time felt much like any of the Autobots that had held her. In fact, she'd never seen the Decepticon look as vulnerable as he did now, but she couldn't pin point just what it was. Looking long and hard at his face she recalled that even when he'd been recharging in Ratchets medical bay there had been a scowl on his face and a raging subconscious seeping from his spark. Now, his features were neutral and the tense air he always gave off was gone. Deep down in their connection she felt nothing but his peace.

Her astonishment was short lived when her own memory came rushing back from the night before. Anna had seen his memories, undoubtedly his most painful ones, and had felt the raw emotion behind them too. His rage and sorrow had poured into her like a vacuum and now she knew every one of his dirty little secrets. Secretes she would never violate because they hurt as badly as if she had been there herself. Anna wouldn't go so far as to say she suddenly liked or fully understood the Decepticon but she definitely saw this mech in a different light.

Deciding he wouldn't be too happy to wake up to her staring she squirmed in his hold which proved to be about as fruitful as a turtle trying to turn over. She bit the inside corner of her lip and tried to grab aholt of a talon caging her in. Being so close to his inner workings she heard Barricade's internal systems take on a new hum that built with the sound of a starting computer. She froze to watch his optics flicker online but they didn't seem to see straight away. Within seconds the Decepticon was aware and staring back at her with a slight frown, a small pool of anger washing out of him. The emotion slid over her like water and did nothing to her own calm disposition. She understood now that like her, but to a far more extreme extent, he wore that stagnant feeling as a mask. It was almost laughable and depressing at the same time that this advanced alien species used the same petty technique as a lowly human like herself. Anger was the easiest way to override fear and pain and if she hadn't seen what he'd done through the small glimpses of his life, she might have felt sorry for him. He was still a killer and took a measure of pleasure in his job, but he was also just another being trying to live out its life the best they could.

"What the frag are you looking at?" Barricade snapped the same moment he dumped her on the muddy ground. He stooped low to keep from breaching the ceiling and glanced out the half opened garage door where sunlight was seeping in.

Anna wrinkled her nose in disdain but not because of the treatment she had come to expect from the 'con. She desperately needed a shower and change of clothes, her scalp was starting to itch and she didn't even want to know how she smelled at the moment. Wetting her finger, she tried to rub away some dirt on her arm then stopped halfway through smearing it around. Wasn't there a giant cut there yesterday? She checked other places she knew had been bruised or sliced and was surprised to find all of her injuries missing. In fact, she felt more refreshed than she had in a long time. Barricade looked much the same. His dents and scratches that once decorated the armor had vanished, leaving behind what looked like freshly buffed paint. She shook her head, deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth and shoved the strangeness of it aside.

Instead, she tried her luck elsewhere. "You know," inquiring slowly. "Humans get sick if they can't perform basic hygiene."

Barricade deadpanned. "What are you implying?"

_Busted already._ Anna huffed. "I'm implying you let me find a place to shower and change. Not only do I run the chance to get sick but people will think I'm deranged and you by default." Not that they don't already.

Barricade glared at her longer, disapproval seeping from his optics.

Anna made a frustrated sound. "Let me take a fragging shower or I'm gonna turn into a real bitch."

Ok, so maybe she wasn't going to act like an adult just yet. Commence the swatting.

"You don't make the orders little girl."

_Ow, touché, _She thought a little too strongly if Barricade's warning growl was anything to go by. Time to change tactics. "Ok then, how about we make a deal?"

Barricade rocked back into the structure, giving her his undivided attention. "I will be making no deals with you, human."

Not one to be deterred from a real shower she continued, "But what if I said, you allow me to rent a hotel room and take a shower, and I promise to give you a carwash." She wasn't exactly sure how it would work but she kept her fingers crossed. "I bet the crud I see between your joints is anything but comfortable."

He sneered for a second, looked away, sneered at the ground, looked away, and repeated the cycle a couple more times. Anna resisted the temptation to roll her eyes and possibly snicker. She'd caught that he hated the mud several times and knew she had him at least thinking about her proposition.

Finally, with a rush of hot air from his vents and a stony look her way he conceded. "I will _only _allow this deal if you swear to leave not even a pine needle behind."

"I swear to god, or Primus, or whoever you want me to swear on. Not even a flake of leaf. Scouts honor." She made the old fashion Girl Scouts sign and attempted to look sincere.

"Frag it. Fine, get in." Barricade transformed, something Anna was slightly impressed by considering the amount of space he had to do it in.

* * *

**Author note:** Finally! RAWR! Took them long enough huh? Or maybe I'm just relived to be done with this chapter. From now on its happy sunshine, puppies and rainbows….not! Plus I tried to be extra diligent in making sure Word didn't switch my words around. I'm fixin' to scream at the thing considering how many reviewers are kindly pointing out the sometimes awkward homophones or closely spelt words. Onwards!


	33. Chapter 33

**Author's note: **I do not own the idea of a 'carrying hold', something you're probably familiar with if you've read any extensive amount of transformer's fanfiction. I have no clue who originally came up with idea so the credit goes to an anonymous.

Thanks so much to DanPhantomCrush and Lunar Mist for your reviews. I love hearing my reader's thoughts so I know what I'm doing right, or wrong. And I just like to know you're enjoying reading this story as much as I am writing it.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Transformers

* * *

It was so big and bushy that at a glance she might have mistaken it for an animal; a very scraggly dead animal hanging limp in the air. The brown bushel twitched as if knowing it was being scrutinized and a pair of cherry oak eyes turned to gave her a dead panned that could have stopped Godzilla short. She flinched and redirected her focus from the down sloping lip hair to the only vaguely emotional part of the man's face. His angry reddish eyes.

"Why are you staring?" The baritone came not from the man but the speakers of the car, which was all well and good since she couldn't imagine the gravelly voice coming out of such a person. His arms were whip thin and his body, though clothed in a cop's uniform, was small and un-intimidating. Except for those eyes that nearly glowed and that furry twitching thing at his lip…

Anna grasped for words and failed miserably. "It's so…weird. And _not_ you." This was one of those instances Anna regretted they shared a telepathic link instead of a mind reading one. The last thing she wanted was to describe in every synonym she knew of how _creepy_ his hologram was.

"It's not supposed to be me," Barricade added rather bored. It was the same tone he'd taken up with her for the last several hours. Where, before in their conversations he would snap off anything that came from her mouth, he now seemed content to treat her as the most mundane thing in the world. His indifferent emotions at the moment only confirmed that. Anna wasn't sure if the change was a good or bad thing but she supposed it was a bit of a nice breather from his usually wound up attitude. She hadn't realized how uptight they'd both been feeling until what she could only call 'a purge of feelings' happened. Maybe they were both just looking forward to getting all the crap they'd both been through for the last several days washed off of them.

"Just, make it stop looking at me. _Please_. You're supposed to be watching the road." By now she was _pleading_ to make Barricade turn that thing around. It was uncomfortable enough being only feet away from it, but to be the focus of its stare made her skin crawl. Even the transformers who were essentially living machines didn't look as mechanical as this image that imitated flesh and blood.

Barricade complied by sweeping the hologram's eyes forwards then turning the head to follow. Anna couldn't help but compare its deliberate movements to the Terminator, albeit a rather lanky one compared to Arnold Swarchenegger. Now that she thought about it, wasn't there a terminator who had disguised themself as cop? The image flickered twice to glimpse a humanoid metal frame wrapped in a mess of cables underneath.

"Are you sure no one's going to notice that?" She asked nervously.

There was a pause and a shallow buzzing feeling from Barricade that Anna could only call confusion. "This form distresses you…Why?"

Anna sucked in an audible breath, wondering how to describe to a robot how he's being too robotic. "For one, you don't look anything like a cop. I don't think any mother in their right mind would let their child near you. And two," The image flickered again, making the upper lip hair twitch. "Would you stop that? And get rid of the fragging mustache!" Why was it the only thing that moved?

The speakers hissed, "This form takes the least amount of energy for me to keep active and sufficiently neutralizes any human suspicion."

It was the same thing he had said when activating the hologram upon reaching a moderately populated town. Anna would have thrown herself out onto the street if it hadn't been for his locked doors when he didn't see fit to warn her before materializing the image with a loud _zap_.

Another bundle of confusion shot her way, but was that also…amusement? She was only just starting to learn how to separate his true emotions behind the muffling blanket of anger. It wasn't all faked though, he was about as pissed off at the world -or was it the universe? - as a PMS'ing teenager could get. Except he had a darn good reason.

Anyway, she couldn't decipher what could possibly be so funny and said as much.

"Nothing femme. Here is the hotel you requested."

Anna blinked up at the gray and maroon strip of a hotel and couldn't help but smile. She jumped out of his door, her heart practically singing with the thought of a shower so close, then flinched. _Shit, I don't have any money. _All her hopes and dreams crushed because of a little monster called cold-hard-cash. She could have cried.

"Um, Barricade?" She trailed off hesitantly. After finally winning an argument with the Decepticon she wouldn't even be able to claim her prize. Life hated her.

"_Look on my dashboard". _Anna started at his resonating voice then chuckled at herself. The thought of him being able to hear all the random and stupid comments rambling out of her head was enough to make her face burn. How much did he really hear of her? Anna envied his ability steer his thoughts inwardly.

Leaning into the still opened door she saw a golden American Express card sitting on his black dashboard. She snatched it up with a muttered thanks and back out. _Saved my ass…_

"Where did you get this anyway?" She couldn't help but ask. Where _did _an alien robot get a credit card?

"_Let's just say the original owner won't be missing it," _he thought smugly with just a dash of perverted pride.

Anna eyed him skeptically, waiting for him to elaborate, but all she got was a door slammed in her face.

"_Hurry up. We don't have time to idle," _He snapped in his signature growl, a tint of exasperation coloring his words. It seemed the short fused Barricade she knew and _loved_ was back.

"_Going!" _Anna barked and skittered off to the lobby, her heart already beating with excitement again. "_A shower…a real shower!"_ Should couldn't help chant and hardly cared if Barricade heard her.

The inside smelled like stale Mexican food and was decorated just about as tastefully as the chipping paint job outside. Walking up to the plywood counter Anna rang the silver bell and resisted the urge to bounce from foot to foot. A chair squeaked from somewhere in the back then a rather roundish woman with tattered black hair emerged with a less than friendly look. The woman scowled at the register as if the very thing was mocking her and started up the ancient machine. While it clicked and whirled unhappily she finally looked up at Anna who wasn't surprised to see the lady's frown deepen.

Anna wasn't discouraged, she knew she looked like a wreck and tried not to glare as she held the credit card over the counter. "A room for one night please."

The cashier took the shiny card and swiped it through the machine. The woman tried to scan it several times with an increasingly annoyed scowl that had Anna worried the card might have been turned off. Thankfully the machine relented and printed a short receipt.

The disgruntled lady handed over the key, receipt, and card with a hoarse, "Here. Room 19. Don't leave too big a mess."

Anna already wanted to slap her tens way to Sunday. Maybe even sick Barricade on her. That would brighten anyone's day, huh? But she had to suck it up for one more question. "Do you have a washer and dryer?"

The woman sluggishly turned and pointed half behind her. "At the end of the complex outside. Don't use too much soap."

Anna nodded with a lopsided smile, "Thanks, I'll be sure to leave some for you." she turned and nearly scampered out the door, holding in a snigger.

The maroon door to her room creaked open and she and was again assaulted by stale Mexican food and furniture that wouldn't have surprised her if it were made from plywood. She threw down her few belongings, including the dead iPod that had been digging into her thigh the whole time, onto the nightstand. Why she still hung onto that stupid thing, she could only sum up to a sentimental value. Besides the clothes on her back and what might have survived her apartment it was pretty much all she had at that point. Anna was about to turn away when curiosity struck, so she bent over and grab the receipt. She wanted to know what poor soul Barricade suckered out of their money and hoped she wouldn't have to charge much on it. Pushing down on the white sheet to uncurl it she strained to read the faded blue print and nearly choked. THEODORE GALLOWAY. _No way_, she thought. This couldn't be the same _Galloway_ she was thinking of. The Galloway, EA leader Galloway,_ the_ asshole _Galloway_. She couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"_Barricade. I don't know how you did but…you're a genius!"_ She hollered through a rush of hysterical excitement that came out audibly as a delirious squeal, a sound she mentally promised to never make again.

Barricade sounded nothing short of smug when he simply replied, "_I know."_

For once they both seemed to agree on something other than hating each other and that was loathing Theodore Galloway. To be able to shower and buy whatever she needed at the man's expense made her giddier than she should have been. She was stealing for hell's sake!

Anna couldn't stop snickering even as she pulled the stale bed sheet out from under the comforter and wrapped it around her like a fat sloppy toga after stripping her clothes. Not even trapezing out into the hot sun practically naked could dampen her mood as she tossed her smelly laundry in before scampering back inside.

Pure unadulterated relief poured over her in the form of steaming hot water that stung her skin lobster red. She had promised to never again take a bathroom for granted. Washing her hair three times and scrubbing until less than half of the cheap complementary bar was left, Anna came out of the bathroom feeling more refreshed than what felt like ages. There was no make-up and she would have to do with a flimsy comb but at the moment she could care less. With a stupid grin plastered on her face she clutched the towel around her and fell face first into the messy bed, blowing a long winded sigh of content into the lumpy mattress. For as shitty as the room was and how rude the owners were it was bigger than her military quarters and for the first time in a while she was alone_. _Anna allowed herself to just lay there and relish in the silence physical and clean feeling, her mind blissfully blank, before remembering she had laundry to move to the dryer.

With a groan she dragged herself up and wrapped the bed sheet around her again before hiking it to the spider infested closet outside. Thankfully the machines were around back facing only woods so she didn't have to flash a whole parking lot, including Barricade. He might have died of laughter or simply obliterated her in disgust. She might have gone with the latter herself.

Anna grabbed her clothes that had thankfully not been stolen by some critter and started up the noisy dryer. Thirty minutes, hopefully having fewer clothes inside would help them dry faster. She had thrown in a small towel to soak up excess water but there was still a good amount around sloshing inside. With the prospect of clean clothes in the near future she smiled lopsidedly while walking back to the room. Maybe she would wash her hair again while waiting. Anna heaved the falling sheet back up and tried to collect the pooling material threatening to trip her and unlocked the door to her room. The blinds were firmly shut and the only working light fixture glowed yellow from the bedside lamp, making the dark room look even uglier. Whoever thought forest green bedding and a maroon carpet with beige walls would go well together should be shot.

She was about to make a dive for the bed when movement in the corner made her freeze inside and out. There was a man with raven black hair and an exceptional build glaring at her through reddish eyes that looked anything but friendly. She recognized him instantly. This was the infiltrator who would have killed her if Dewbot hadn't intervened and blasted Mountain Dew cans with the speed and ferocity of a machine gun at him.

Anna stumbled backwards and lunged for her iPod on the night stand. Brandishing it like a knife she screamed, "What the fuck do you want? And how did you find me?" Her heart was hammering painfully inside her chest and she was mentally berating herself. What could she do with a fragging iPod? Beat him with it? She tried to crush her panic but the adrenaline had already taken over. Fight or flight, fight or flight? Who was she kidding, she had no way to defend herself and the bed sheet made it impossible to run. Not even having the door behind her instead of between them made her feel any better.

The piercing glare tightened and the man stalked forwards. "The last time I checked you seemed more than pleased by this form."

His voice, _that_ voice was coming out of him in a way that made her brain suffer from the equivalent of a glitch. "B-Barricade?"

He bumped his solid chest into the forgotten iPod and grabbed her arm with skin that felt too real and dropped her stiff arm at her side. "Put that thing away you stupid femme. What are you going to do? Bludgeon me with the scrap?"

She hadn't heard him. He was close, way too close. From this distance she could feel his hot breath and the warmth radiating off his skin. Not to mention be reminded of how good looking she thought he'd been last time just before he attacked. Oh god, he'd tried to kill her! How had she not realized it had been Barricade all along? How had anyone missed something so obvious? She could have imploded from the blazing embarrassment that wormed all the way into her cheeks. Instead, she felt a sharp zap at the contact point of where his hand grasped her wrist and felt it discharge to the palm of her hand. With a yelp of pain she jerked back into the wooden door hard enough to make the wall rattle and Barricade lurched away equally as startled. Holding her wrist above her searing hand, she stared down at the iPod Classic sparking blue on the floor.

"What the frag?" Barricade hissed, nursing a mirrored hand.

He barely finished when the electronic began to _transform._ Black and silver painted legs sprouted from the contorting box then arms flicked out to the sides that it used to push itself up. It only got up halfway before falling shakily onto its behind. Anna fell into a stream of silent cursing, just waiting for the thing to go all evil mini-Decepticon on her. The electricity stopped and the mini transformer onlined its optics, two bright violet orbs that scanned the room in a whipping side-to-side motion that struck Anna as an almost curious manor. Then it locked eye-optic contact with her and made a small chirp like click before hastily crawling in her direction. Anna flinched, every fiber in her being ready to bolt, but stopped short when it didn't brandish a gun or mini saw of doom.

It reached the bottom of the excess bed sheet collecting over her feet and used it to climb up while spewing a stream of clicks and whirls that oddly enough didn't sound the least bit threatening. Anna grasped the bed sheet, trying to fight gravity and the mini bot with her heart pounding against her chest until her former iPod perched on her shoulder and leaned over to look into her eyes. She blinked almost cross eyed at its closeness, their noses almost touching, and noted the same intricacies of a transformers face but on a miniature scale. She could see the tiny circular spokes working behind its odd colored optics set into a black and silver face that greatly reminded her of Sideswipe in design. _Sideswipe!_ He was going to be pissed when he discovered what happened to his _I'm sorry_ gift!

It chirped again, leaning a little bit closer to her face as if fascinated with her irises. The moment its 'nose' brushed hers it tumbled down her front with a surprised squeak. Before she knew what she was doing Anna caught the mini-bot in a way that left one arm trapped in the covers and the other free. It stared back up her with its wide optics until they shuttered in a 'blink'. It apparently found something it liked since it made a happy like chirp and reached both small arms upwards in what could only be a silent demand to be lifted closer.

"Barricade?" she strangled out and looked up at the frozen hologram of the Decepticon who looked, and felt, just as stunned and unresponsive.

"Cade!" She barked, her sharpness finally snapping the mech into motion.

He came closer, pensively, and peered down at the creature no bigger than eight inches cradled in her arms. It stopped squirming and turned to cock its head inquisitively at Barricade before making another series of excited chirps.

"It's…a sparkling," he breathed quietly, seemingly to himself. Anna even heard the pre-echo of his thought it was so strongly focused.

She could only frown at his awed expression. It was such a weird look on him. "A what?"

Barricade tore his eyes away and pinned Anna with the most serious look she'd ever seen on his face, hologram or not. "A sparkling. It's what you would call a transformer child...Or in this specific case, an infant."

Anna sputtered, "B-but every time this happens they turn into the energizer bunny from hell and they're darn well anything but infantile or innocent!" She drawled the word 'hell', her Texan accent getting thicker with each word.

Barricade spoke slowly. "I can't explain it since this is obviously the Allspark's doing. All I can tell you is what you're holding is very valuable."

"What?" Anna squeaked and looked down at the sparkling that had taken to playing with the material she was wrapped in. She suddenly had the urge to hand it over to Barricade, knowing in no way should she should be holding an infant, let alone an alien one. But watching it finger the material, pause knowing it was being stared at, and chirp happily up at her before going back to its amusement, she just couldn't do it. Handing an infant to Barricade, was she mad?

"What should we do with it?" She corrected, looking to Barricade at a loss.

"It's a he," the Decepticon blurted, taking a step back, and began pacing.

She was holding an infant in her hands that had once been her iPod. This couldn't be real. Stuff like this just didn't happen.

Her still stalling mind was being bombarded by a steady stream of _what if's_ from Barricade in a fashion that had her head spinning. "_I can't take it to Starscream, he'd kill it in a sparkbeat…I could hide it in an undisclosed location…no it can't be left unattended…Maybe those fragging Autoscum…"_

His mind was racing so fast she couldn't keep up with her simple human brain. Feeling suddenly light headed, she slugged over to the bed where she plopped down and rubbed at her aching sockets with the heel of her palm. There was a small chirp from the sparkling in her sheet covered arm that still cradled it. Anna opened her eyes when she felt it crawling up her chest, pulling on the fabric there, accompanied with a tugging sensation behind her heart. With her eyes finally on _him_ the sparkling made a series of garbled sounds far from chirps and whirls that Anna could only describe as a mesh of up and down tones before it stopped and blinked up at her as if expecting something. Hell if she knew what.

Without knowing quite what else to do she cocked an awkward smile and greeted it, "Well hello there."

It chirped ecstatically, or what sounded ecstatic to her, and began bouncing side to side before falling unsteadily back into her arms, still looking innocently and expectantly up at her. Anna removed her free arm from under the sparkling's warm metal behind and held her spread hand in front of his face where he promptly grabbed aholt of one of her fingers in his fist. He pulled it down to optic level to quietly inspected the appendage.

"Smart little fella, huh?" She jabbered as he bent the digit back and forth.

After of playing with her hand he, much to Anna's dismay, went to attacking the bed sheet before curling up and trying to pull a flap of the fabric over it. She took a chunk of the comforter she was sitting on and laid it over the sparkling and her lap, making sure to keep the head exposed. She wondered if he even needed to breathe. It was only seconds before a soft, rhythmic clicking sound vibrated from its vocals and into her stomach. Anna could even feel the warmth radiating off its body. She felt her face going pale. It was alive and it was basically a baby asleep in her lap…and she was hardly wearing anything.

"Um…" she hesitated then stopped all together. _"Barricade?"_

"…_Skywarp's a fragging idiot... (Barricade?). A remote controlled life support system could sustain it for about… (Barricade?). If I input the coordinates the remote controlled propulsion system could… (Cade!)." _He stopped mid thought, mid pace, and swiveled with a loud barking, "What! Can't you see I'm…" Only to stop abruptly by Anna's heated glare and the sparkling that immediately began tossing and making annoyed grunts.

"_Chill the hell out. You're giving me a migraine! And what the frag are you going to do with a propulsion system?" _She pushed mentally.

He glared down at the sparkling then back at Anna. _"Nothing you need to worry about _human. _This is what Megatron had been searching for but Starscream will deactivate him out of sheer stupidity_!" He ended exasperated. Clearly she wasn't supposed to hear the last bit.

"_They'll kill me too," _she deadpanned. Anna didn't know who Starscream was and she knew about Megatron was he had been some tyrannical leader the Autobots had killed off recently. She heard Sideswipe crack jokes about Starscream that made her think he could turn into some kind of plane but that was the extent of her knowledge.

Barricade stopped short and growled unintelligibly before spitting, _"I can't risk leaving you too far away. It still has the possibility of killing us both instantly."_

She didn't have to ask him what 'It' was. Anna resisted an urge to sigh haughty. The big bad Decepticon was finally talking to her instead of at her and all he could do was a whole lot of bitching_. _

"_Well, then why don't we give him to the Autobots?"_ She pondered, working off a fragment of thought she'd caught from his stream of thoughts.

There was a tangible pause in the bond before Barricade finally ground, _"They are a last resort and I don't even know where the slag they are. The humans have them and with your ability of picturing gory fantasies it shouldn't be too hard to picture what sort of shape they're most likely in." _He gave a sharp internal bark of laughter before muttering to himself, _"Megatron would _love_ this."_

The sting of hearing the very words she'd been trying not to think washed her conscious with unbidden images of Wheeljack offline on the plane and fictitious but brutal snapshots of the other Autobots suffering similar impalements if not total dismemberment. She even recalled Barricade's terror of nearly having his spark ripped out by Galloway's orders. Fear didn't even begin to describe the tightness in her chest. She hoped to hell they weren't drilling their sparks out for who knew what kind of twisted experiment.

Anna hung her head when her vision began to blur, bleeding the maroon carpet with the green comforter in her lap. A ghosting touch brushed her shoulder then retreated with a snap.

"Stop that," Barricade said hesitantly before switching to thought. _"Why do you always create those image files? You don't even know if they're true."_

Then why had he just suggested she think of them! He had to have known her brain would have immediately pulled out the worst case scenarios. Angrily, she wiped at the tears until she had some semblance of vision then glared at Barricade. Slightly bent over with only feet to spare between them, the grim line of his lips couldn't mask the shaken look set in his cherry wood eyes.

"_Then why don't we go find them?" _She said firmly.

He stepped back, his eyes twitching away and body slightly turned. Anna was surprised he didn't start pacing again. Instead, he looked thoughtfully at the sparkling in her lap. _"I wouldn't know where to start looking,"_ he admitted, his thoughts rumbling in a far more subdued manor.

She wasn't about to be deterred that easily. _"What about, what's his name…Prowl! Think he could track them somehow? Since he's an Autobot and all," _she pointed out hopefully. "We saw him not that long ago."

Barricade gave an unamused snort._ "Did you fry a circuit femme? There's no way in frag I'm going to an Autobot for help."_

"_Isn't that what we're trying to do in the first place? Look, just try to talk to him. There has to be a way you can get Prowl to listen instead of just shooting first and asking question later." _Anna could practically feel a stream of retorts itching his subconscious.

He looked increasingly perplexed. _"And how exactly could that happen? In case you haven't noticed we don't have a particularly good track record with each other." _

She wasn't sure if he meant the Autobots, or Prowl himself.

Anna made a frustrated noise. _"Just dangle me in the air swearing you'll shoot me if he doesn't stop and listen. That wouldn't take any stretch of the imagination for you to do."_

Barricade jerked in surprise, an obvious tension pulling at his uncannily realistic muscles. _"You're asking to become cannon fodder?" _

Anna shrugged._ "I'm already a hostage. Why don't I play the part?"_

His eyes pinned hers. _"Whatever we're going to do we need to leave now…Here." _He produced a nutrition bar out of thin air and tossed the noisily wrapped foil at Anna's hands. _"I finally figured out those abdominal pains weren't mine. Consume _that_ and get rid of them, they're grating on my patience."_ With that he stalked out of the room while miraculously not slamming the door behind him.

Anna sighed, looked down at the sparkling, and began transferring him to the comforter, hoping he wouldn't wake up. With him safely curled up asleep, Anna gathered her sheets so she could stand. Her limbs were shaking and she swore her heart was threatening to burst from her chest. Never before had she felt so embarrassed in her entire life. The only saving grace she had was Barricade didn't seem to care either way, human modesty was probably lost on a robotic alien. She vaguely wondered if they _had_ anything to be modest about, but brought that train of thought to a screeching, red faced halt. She was _not _going to start fantasizing about transformers being with each other.

With the thought of needing a steel scrubber for her brain, Anna reached for the doorknob and nearly fell forwards when it swung out of her grasp.

"Take your pitiful armor and put it on. I originally came up here to hurry your slow aft up. Now git' before I have to drag you out." His Avatar promptly flickered out of existence, leaving Anna standing stunned in the door way with a handful of freshly washed clothes.

Barricade seemed to have taken a liking to the hologram that supposedly "drained too much power," since he'd been using it for the last several hours to 'drive' him. He'd also finally shed the NEST uniform for that of a policeman without any of the bells or whistles. Not that he needed weapons in that form. Anna couldn't say it was a bad change; this form was definitely a vast improvement from the mustached psychopath she was sure would have given the sparkling nightmares. She couldn't help but notice Barricade seemed more comfortable with it.

Said sparkling was occupying her lap and playing with the hem of her shirt; all the while spilling out random happy chirps and the occasional cringe worthy grabble of sound that neither she nor Barricade could understand the reason for. Not to mention they'd each had little to no contact with young children or other sparklings. Anna supposed she should be thankful he didn't have that funky baby smell or drooled all over the place.

"Sparklings are far more intelligent than your human offspring. They're fully aware of their environment upon creation and can understand speech." Barricade scoffed while trying to explain their strange predicament.

But Anna was barely listening after the umpteenth, randomly blurted jumble of facts. She could have sworn he was nervous, but of what she wasn't sure. He was definitely conflicted about something. "You really care about what happens to him, don't you?" she asked softly.

There was a pregnant pause and a burst of annoyance before he said, "What the frag are you talking about?"

She mentally rolled her eyes. "You're willing to drop everything and even go back to the Autobots for this little guy. I just wouldn't take you for the type." Of course he would be the kind to get angry over a compliment.

His next words were spoken lowly yet the accusation hit her with the sharpness of a knife to the heart. "We may be linked by the Allspark human, but you know nothing about me."

Anna paused, not from the acid in his voice, but from the sincerity of his words. It was true, their link as Jolt once described was a symbiosis for recharging energy; but it was a forced condition that had nothing to do with their previous life style. At first, Anna saw Barricade as nothing but a pissed off transformer hell bent on killing her. Hell, that was only just yesterday. Now that she thought about it, today was the first time she'd really had a somewhat normal conversation him that didn't turn into how will I kill the squishy human today? During whatever happened that she could only describe as a purge of negative feelings she had been able to glimpse some of Barricade's spark wrenching losses. It occurred to Anna she didn't know anything about _who_ the Decepticon was. Not his likes, his dislikes, or anything about his past. The regret and personal pain filled memories that he hadn't wanted to share in the first place came so quickly she was only able to retain a glimpse. What stuck the most were faces of nameless transformers accompanies by powerful emotions that were enough to make her own heart wrench.

She bowed her head and muttered an apology.

A passive silence passed between them, the only sounds coming from the radio as the sparkling amused himself with changing the channels. Anna watched him curiously before addressing Barricade. "So, what should we name him?"

Barricade's altmode lurched, sending the sparkling into a fit of chittering laughter. It seemed anything sudden tended to excite the little guy which was a good thing considering Barricade's volatile tendencies.

"Name him?" Barricade spat incredulously. "Why in the pit would I name him? I'm not his creator!"

Anna only just realized how easily she had been following his exchange of cybertronian equivalent words. It made Anna realize just how alien Wheeljack had always been but since it was all she had ever known she thought it as normal. That was of course until grade school when she was teased for her strange jargon. She tried not to think about it, thinking of her Uncle was uncomfortable in more ways than one.

"Come on. He was 'created' when you touched me so you have to hold _some_ responsibility." She snapped her mouth shut and became increasingly red in the following silence. "_That didn't come out right_," she thought meekly. Barricade's emotions stalled in tandem with her own which only fueled her rising blood pressure.

"I simply have no desire to give _him_ a name," he finally said.

She glared at his unresponsive hologram, even though his voice was coming through the speakers, then smiled down at the sparkling who was crawling towards the dash to play with Barricade's 'buttons' again. At one point the sparkling had started crying for no rhyme or reason and after arguing with the 'con on what to do Barricade blasted his radio in a fit to cover up the whaling; which ironically, stopped the waterworks almost instantly. Ever since then the sparkling has had a healthy love for the radio dials and every genre of music available, with Barricade controlling the volume of course.

"Fine then, _I'll _name him," she declared.

Anna had already been compiling a list of names while they were retracing their steps to the mountain, Barricade's personal signature glaring as far as he could stretch it, and her ideas were cringe worthy at best. Soundhound was one of the first to pop in her head, after the song searching app, because of his love of scouring the radio stations. But somehow she reckoned it would illicit teasing from other transformers and possibly follow him into his adult life. What _was_ it like for transformers growing up? She couldn't even fathom. Even the dorky name iBot ran through her list because of his origin of being an iPod but brushed it into the mental trash bin just as quickly. She kept coming back to one name though that reminded her of his tendency to sputter a mish-mash of indecipherable noise.

"How about Whitenoise?" She blurted, the suddenness of her voice catching the sparkling's rapt attention.

She paused, waiting for Barricade to object, but he remained silent and there was no extra flare of negative emotion. That was good enough for her. She liked the name, it had a certain ring to it that fit with the other Transformers usually conjoined names. She just hoped it didn't translate into some kind of faux pas in Cybertronian.

"What do you say that that little guy? Whitenoise?"

He chirped happily at her and Anna felt that weird tugging sensation in her chest again. "_No! I will not give into the cuteness!" _She practically wriggled under his gaze. She had to admit, as strange as the miniature 'bot was his massive optics and miss proportioned body screamed nothing short of cute. She just couldn't get over how different he was from the other appliances that she had unintentionally brought to life.

Barricade leaked tentative confusion to her outburst which made Anna internally snort. So she was in a semi-good mood, sue her. It also probably couldn't hurt for some of it to rub off on Barricade either.

Whitenoise skittered up to her, making a new serious of clicks that seemed to repeat over and over again in rhythm. He plucked at the fabric of her shirt in time with the sound while glancing up at her periodically with those violet optics of his. She couldn't help but laugh when he brushed her sensitive side and she caught his hand before he could tickle her again.

"Why do you like my shirt so much, White? Do you like the color?"

He chirped in reply and tried grabbing for the fabric again as she twisted every which way to avoid him which was nearly impossible being trapped in a seat.

A swell of bitterness washed over her from Barricade which made her stop and scowl. "What?" she snapped at him. What could she have possibly done now? Was seeing a creature happy that disgusting to him?

As usually he didn't seem to see it fit to tell her and let the question linger unanswered.

After a few more hours of entertaining Whitenoise with the radio and watching him become fascinated with poking Barricade's non solid and unresponsive hologram, Anna had reached her limit. In more ways than one. Firstly, there was only so much time in the car she could stand, even when every little thing Whitenoise did irritated the hell out of Barricade. Which was amusing in itself. He took everything the little guy threw at him like a trooper but on the inside Anna could feel the 'con building like a dormant volcano and was getting a bit worried he might have been reaching his limit as well. She was getting fidgety too from the close quarters and Barricade had already snapped at her a couple times for scratching mindlessly at the seams of his seat. Secondly, she needed to find a rest stop, badly.

"Cade?" she was embarrassed to say her question came out a pleading whine but she was at the point of do or die. "Can we _please_ stop?"

Barricade, for once, didn't argue and pulled off the road almost instantly. He drove a short ways into the woods, scrapping uncomfortably over the terrain and tight spaces between trees before opening his door with a curt, "Out."

Anna practically leapt out, holding Whitenoise to her much like an oversized doll because he kept squirming to see what was going on in front of her. She didn't step back so much as dodge from Barricade who was already beginning his transformation. It was fascinating to her how transformers didn't always fold down or up the same way. It seemed they could change the sequence of parts depending on what their environment allowed. Whitenoise was just as enthralled by the process and it occurred to Anna that this was his first time seeing Barricade's true form. She hoped the 'con wouldn't scare him into another fit, her ears were still ringing.

Barricade was whole again within seconds, loudly popping a stiff joint in his shoulder to finish. Perhaps the cramped feeling hadn't been exactly hers.

"I swear, this is the _last_ time I _ever_ go out of my way for a sparkling," he griped.

Anna cringed, waiting for the high pitched crying, but they were both shocked when Whitenoise made a boasting 'rawr!' sort of sound, clawing at Barricade with his, well, tinier claws before giggling to himself. She backed up when Barricade suddenly stooped down to place his face within inches of her own, his supporting hand sinking into the damp earth as he glared at Whitenoise.

"You think that's funny, do you?" He asked lowly, his mouth full of knife teeth gnashing with the words.

Whitenoise reached out to grasp both sides of the bar under Barricade's optics and began playing with the way they vee'd away from his nose, clicking rapidly. Barricade's optic ridge pinched further down his frame while Anna could barely retain the humor that overpowered her slight worry for the con's violent tendencies. She really couldn't believe he hadn't swung at them yet out of pure irritation. The light in his burning red optics shifted to Anna, trailing a red glow along her skin. She stilled instantly. She could see the spokes in the inner part of his pupils spinning outwards and intricate machinery shifting around the fringes of it. It was always unnerving to look a transformer so closely in the optic, especially Barricade.

He "hmphed," in a fashion curiously close to Ironhide and withdrew to a standing position.

Anna let out the breath she hadn't known she'd been holding; then quickly worked up her courage. "Could you hold him for a couple minutes?"

Barricade looked like he'd swallowed a bug. "Why?" The tone was accusing.

"Because I need to pee," she whispered harshly, slightly embarrassed. "I know I'm talented but I can't hold him and go at the same time. It'll only be for a minute." Anna really hoped that her belief he wouldn't harm Whitenoise would hold.

Barricade had also learned the hard way that when she said she needed to go, she really needed to go. Needless to say she bitched, loudly, naming all the disgusting things that happen when one isn't allowed to relieve themselves. She wasn't proud of herself but he got the message one way or another.

He made a strangled sound before lowering his cupped claw in front of her. "Fine," he ground out as if the word hurt him, "But you better take no longer than sixty seconds. I'm counting, femme."

She placed Whitenoise in Barricade's palm with some hesitancy and watched Barricade curl his talons around the sparking. She instantly started having second thoughts but damn it all, she needed to go. She really would have made a horrible mother if she ever had children of her own. She quickly walked a short distance into the trees and relieved herself. If there was one thing she hated about being human it was having to use the bathroom multiple times a day. It got old when there were no toilets or toilet paper around.

With her business taken care of she decided not to linger incase Barricade finally snapped. But she only made two strides before something smashed into the side of her face. Anna stumbled, catching a tree for balance, its bark scraping the skin of her hand, and blinked against the pain to try and see her attacker. But there was no one around and she realized the surprise and panic wasn't wholly hers. A stinging pull she couldn't identify choked her chest and a battle cry followed by an earth vibrating crash reached her from the distance. Anna cursed and broke into a run. Of all the time they'd been looking for the Autobot he chooses _now_ to find them. But then it painfully dawns on her that Prowl might have been following them for a while. It was the only way she could see him taking Barricade by surprise. She wanted to smack herself with stupidity but her worry for Whitenoise overrode it. He could easily be crushed between the two giant robots duking it out.

They found her before she found them. Barricade came crashing through the trees, snapping tree trunks with the force of his thrown weight, and landed only feet from Anna. She gave a little yelp in surprise, feeling the after effects of the sting left by whatever hit him with the equivalent force of a truck. Anna tried to blunder away through the shock of pain and adrenaline as Barricade jumped up, snatching her with him.

The air was sucked out of her, rendering her unable to breathe let alone scream, until she was face to face with Barricade's homemade blaster.

"Don't move or I'll deactivate the human." The voice that rolled out of Barricade's vocalizer was so cold and detached that it made Anna shiver.

She turned a terrified glance from the gaping barrel of the gun to the mech standing frozen amongst the tattered trees. Prowl stood in a battle ready stance, his own pellet gun in hand, and spared Anna only the briefest flicker of his optics before settling his poker face solely on Barricade.

"Drop your weapon. I have a few words for you."

Prowl did as demanded. He threw his weapon into the trees where it made a loud crash somewhere in the distance and held his hands out to his side where they could be easily seen.

"Then talk, Decepticon." His voice was mostly neutral but Anna could have sworn she heard a small bite to the last word.

"I have…a proposition," Barricade began, his voice expelling a new kind of frightening quality.

Anna hoped he knew what he was doing, and even more so that he wouldn't make her regret this.

Prowl waited patiently for him to continue. She couldn't understand how he could look so emotionally detached at a time like this.

"You wish to have your fellow Autobot's freed from the humans, correct?"

Without any physical movement aside from his mouth piece Prowl replied, "That would be preferable."

Barricade was just as stone still, his frame hunched and arm cables taught with coiled tension. "It just so happens that I want to find them. You are a high ranking officer and have access to their communication channels. Also, being an Autobot, you have greater insight into how this planets inhabitants processors work. Aid me in tracking them down and I will not turn this human into particle matter," Barricade waited with a building tension Anna openly shared.

Prowl rapidly flickered his optics to Anna and back to Barricade again, but only once. The seconds ticked by nauseously until he finally declared, "I decline."

Anna felt a giant stone drop into her gut and she ceased breathing. This Autobot, a mech who was a part of a faction Sideswipe told her had a _sworn_ duty to never harm humans had just forfeited her life to a Decepticon. She had been betting their chances on her predicament causing him to take pause because of that code. Anna hardly knew this mech and had never really taken the time to try and become familiar, but she couldn't stop the acid bubble of betrayal from eating up her insides. She really _was_ just cannon fodder to them. A _thing_ they kept around for usefulness. Her eyes stung and threatened to spill over but she swallowed hard, refusing to cry. This was not the time.

Barricade's thoughts were guarded, more so than usual, but his emotions were an open book. He was uncertain about something. He moved slowly, pulling her so close to his chest she could feel the heat rising from his armor.

Prowl took a single step before Barricade's words halted him. "I wouldn't be so quick to say no if I were you. The human isn't my only bargaining chip." The way he said it with a steely resolve slowly taking over his uncertainty made Anna scared.

"_Cade?" _Her unspoken question was left hanging.

A portion of his chest caved in, the armor rearranging to form a gaping hole. Then she heard a familiar questioning whistle before Whitenoise's head poked out directly in front of her. He first looked curiously at Prowl who actually took a blundering step back, knocking tree-branches down with his door wings. Anna couldn't stifle her surprise either. Barricade would put Whitenoise in the line of fire? But he was just a baby? She hadn't expected even the 'con to stoop so low. _"No! Cade? What are you doing?" _Her cry was met with more silence and a grim feeling.

When Whitenoise finally noticed her he gave a strange warble and practically leapt at her. She caught him and his arms latched around her neck and he buried his face into her shoulder. Anna felt shocked as he trembled in silent terror and only held him tighter.

"Shh. It's ok White," she murmured quietly, stroking the top of his helm while glancing between what she could see of Barricade's chest and Prowl.

Anna couldn't help but notice how Prowl's tense shoulders and door wings sagged, a sign of resignation. "I will follow your demands," he confirmed.

"A wise decision," Barricade rumbled, a sickening satisfaction coursing through him.

Anna glanced around Prowl, scanning the woods around them, and felt a chill ripple through her. Wheeljack wasn't there. She had been repeatedly shoving her hopes into the dirt, burying them to try and delay the hurt she had known was probably coming all along. But now, no matter how much she had mentally prepared Anna could feel nothing but a numbing pain that ate at her inside and out. He was dead and she hadn't even been there for his final moments. Just like her dad she never got to say goodbye. The world suddenly felt black. There was nothing for her anymore. Everyone she cared about was gone and she was utterly alone. Her life was forfeit; there was nothing to live for anymore. She felt lightheaded.

Something warm pressed against her face, surprising Anna. Whitenoise pulled his hand away from her face, his fingers coming away wet. She hadn't even realized she'd started crying and trembling. Whitenoise gave her a low toned chirp that was slower and at a lower pitch than his usual sound as he stared up her with his wide violet optics. Maybe she could hold on a little bit longer, at least until the Autobots had Whitenoise. Then she could go jump off a cliff or drive into a wall. Yeah, she could do that at least; ensure that Barricade didn't wind up killing him. It was the least she could do.

Barricade slammed her with a wave of rage, not the masking kind, but a real unadulterated rage. _"Stop sniveling you worthless femme." _He barked through her mind.

The severity of it made her jump and she glared up at him even though she couldn't see anything past his armored chest.

Not a moment later he spoke out loud and she could feel the rumble of his words from her proximity to his frame. "Where is the white Autobot you were with?"

Anna's throat constricted and didn't dare hope, she already knew the answer.

Prowl only took a brief moment to contemplate before saying, "He is several miles from here."

"Take me to him," Barricade demanded suddenly.

"He was not part of our agreement," Prowl shot back immediately.

Barricade shoved the muzzle of his weapon closer to Anna and Whitenoise though all of them knew it would be suicidal to fire so close to his own chassis. "He is an Autobot is he not? I ordered you to track them down. Take me to him, now."

For a moment Anna thought he really was going to shoot.

* * *

**Author note:** three cheers for the longest chapter I've ever written! It might be because I was so excited to write this one. Just like my Arrival to Earth chapter (15), I'd had this one planned out since the days of this stories infancy say…two years ago? I love Whitenoise, he's so adorable, not to mention I've had a strange fascination with sparklings lately. I've always wondered why Sam's 'creations' _always_ turned into spastic killing machines so I thought I'd put my own reasoning behind it. And the hotel scene with Anna and Barricade, *insert embarrassing fangirl squeal*. Hopefully there was some believable character development in there too.


	34. Chapter 34

**Author's note: **On 9/30/2011Peter Cullen was a special guest on my favorite hometown radio station! Granted it was just a call in but still! It was so awesome to hear him say the name of my hometown and name off the radio hosts. Apparently someone at the 2011 botcon had managed to snag him to set up a day with him disguised as a promotion for the movie release. I've always heard he's a really cool a guy from people who have met him and he sounds like a great person to get to know. I've never been able to go to a botcon but I would love to meet him one day.

I recorded the segment and would post the audio but I'm almost 100% sure that would infringe on some kind of copywrite law.

To top it off I got the movie today and FINALLY (drum roll) I found a Barricade toy! Don't laugh. I've been looking for him since the first movie and I finally found one! I was surprised at the detail too because it was under ten bucks. It even says "to punish and enslave…" on the side. He now sits on my desk next to the Allspark Rubik's Cube my friend bought me a few years back with my mini Ironhide. No I'm not the crazy transfan who wears nothing but transformers t-shirts and has blankets and posters and a billion vintage transformer toys. Not that that would be a bad thing…but I have a habit of putting strange things on my desk…such as my jar of, I kid you not, dirt. Yes my friend gave me a Smuckers jar filled with dirt from her backyard for one of my birthdays. I'll let y'all guess where she got that idea from. It is my inspiration space.

And the grand finale? I finally posted this chapter! Yes, today was a good day.

**P.S: **I remembered seeing an interesting 'article' (interview) on the "Mustache Man" from transformers the first movie and just found it again. I thought y'all might be interested in reading it. **http: / browse .deviantart. com / ?q= decepticon &orde r=9& offset= 24# / dzkqrb **delete all the spaces and paste in your browser. I'll put a permanent link up on my homepage too.

**P.S.S:** I was told the idea of "Carrying hold" came from Litahatchee so anytime I vaguely refer to the name credit goes to them. It is simply the term I am barrowing however, I don't know what their specific definition of a carrying hold is as I've seen it a largely fancanon (not sure if that's the right word) concept…Carrying hold, Sparkling Chamber ect.

**P.S.S.S:** Y'all are awesome! I received so much great feedback from the last chapter that really helped and gave me some great ideas.

**To Jeannette Hetfield (b/c reply is turned off):** I agree. I feel like I wound up beating around the bush a little too long before sticking the two together. Part of it was me trying to not jump too quickly into their interactions and second, the story simply got away from me. The mustache man always creped me out too! Even Blackout had the same hologram so I assume it was a standard for the Decepticons. I wonder who of them would have picked it out and how they wound up choosing it. I like the soldier Cade much better too, there's no reason why he wouldn't want a little individuality.

And yes, Cade was in her room because he was getting impatient and being the cranky Decepticon that he is.

I'm glad Prowl was in character, I find him a bit hard for me to write. As for "aholt" I originally put it in my story after hearing my high school animal science teacher use it nearly every day (best teacher ever). He was from west Texas and used to work on a cattle ranch so he threw out all kinds of backwards slang like instead of saying Coyote he would say Cyote. It just kinda stuck. It gives me all kinds of warm fuzzes to know you thought of my story when your friend said it.

Thanks for the tip on who owns "Carrying hold." I always want to give credit where credit is due.

**Phew. Long author's notes. NOW without further ado, the chapter begins.**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own transformers.

* * *

The further they walked into the woods the harder Anna's pulse pounded through her veins. The blood roared in her head, drowning the world into dull throbs. Her knees and hands braced rigidly against Barricade's halfheartedly encasing claw as his attention was highly divided. Anna appreciated he at least was minding her existence enough not to crush her but she might end up falling instead.

His priority was on Prowl who walked ahead with Barricade's gun trained on the back of his head. Anna couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt while watching the Autobot's sensitive doorwings sway behind him with each step and twitching in aggravation when they broke branches. Even though she hadn't suggested Barricade take him hostage Anna had encouraged the 'Con to seek him out. All she had really wanted was to be reunited with Jack but now consequences felt like a slap in the face; she felt like a traitor and overwhelmingly selfish. Barricade of course, wasn't receptive to her feelings in the least. In fact he managed to convey a strong sense of smugness that confused her. Was he just happy to have the tables turned? Or was he really planning on killing Prowl?

Anna's grip tightened around his thick fingers until her knuckles whitened; her stomach churning. Of course it would be completely valid to kill him. Prowl was the enemy and there were always other Autobots to hand Whitenoise over to. That disgusting feeling in her gut clenched even harder. She hadn't pledged her allegiance to anyone, wasn't an Autobot or Decepticon, only human. So why did this bother her so much?

Prowl slowed his gait, making sure to not create any alarming movement, and turned his glowing blue optics on Barricade. Anna flinched. Barricade promptly stopped and forced a startled squeak out of Anna as his grip momentarily tightened.

"Wheeljack is three clicks ahead," Prowl said slowly, his voice conveying nothing beyond a stated fact.

Anna supposed he didn't want Barricade to shoot Jack in surprise but it ground at her how he still wouldn't give any hints as to her uncle's condition.

"Then walk faster," Barricade snapped and lifted his weapon higher.

"Very well," Prowl said coolly and continued through the foliage.

She hadn't thought it was possible but his detached manor made her feel even worse. It was like being given the cold shoulder by her mother, a silent treatment that was worse than any slap or harsh words. Anna felt a bit ridiculous, Prowl was nothing like her mother but she couldn't help but make the comparison.

He led them into a noticeably less dense portion of trees where Anna caught a glimpse of dull white. Her heart rose into her throat.

"Jack," She said so quietly she could barely hear herself.

Her 'uncle' was kneeling on one knee, one hand gripping a tree for support and the other brandishing a pistol size gun. His armor was scuffed and dirty, dull flecks of blue mixing with detritus earth. His un-kept appearance only amplified the murderous fire in his optics, a white-hot color that made Anna flinch. They flickered at her movement and they softened considerably, returning to a more normal semblance of cerulean. Anna was sure she saw relief flash through those glowing orbs before worry took its place. Reading his facial expressions was difficult with the mask he wore despite her knowing him literally all her life. It was one thing to read a human physique and an extreme other to decipher a literally alien one that couldn't twist in quite the same way.

But if there was one body language that was universal, it was pain. Wheeljack's limbs shook violently and she could hear fans working double time from within his systems. Even so, Anna couldn't help but share the relief. He was functioning, alive, and she wanted nothing more than to run up and give him a hug then swat the slag out of em'. It was then she realized she would have willingly taken Barricade's gun being shoved in her face and Prowl held at gun point again just to see her uncle still among the living. She wondered if that made her disgusting or inhuman. What would Jack say if he knew? He would likely reprimand her, harshly, for putting a life in danger.

"Drop your weapon." Barricade harshly ordered, his voice grounding Anna on the current problem.

Wheeljack spared Prowl, who stood aloft with a slightly turned stance to see them all, a glance. His SIC didn't so much as twitch but Wheeljack seemed to have found some form of silent encouragement because he locked optics with Barricade and slowly set his pistol into the dead grass. The 'Con stepped forward, unknowingly shoving Anna uncomfortably close to Wheeljack's optics, and planted his foot on the weapon but didn't move to pick it up.

She stared wide-eyed into her Uncles optics that seemed to be having a hard time with figuring out who to look at. It was the closest she had ever been to his true form's face while he was conscious. The strangeness of it made her bite her cheek in nervousness.

"What do you want Barricade?" Wheeljack finally spoke, vocal indicators flashing. Anna was surprised at the subdued steadiness in his voice.

Her captor sneered down at him and Anna couldn't help but feel a swell of protective fury for her uncle. He was family and she would be damned if she didn't do everything she could to keep him alive. Barricade stopped short, bursting irritation her way mingled with his pure hate for the Autobot in an undoubted attempt to scare her into submission. She was taken aback at the strength behind his animosity but it also fueled her aggression. She snarled at him in her head and visibly bristled. _"Don't you dare shoot him."_

"_Silence!" _He roared, the ringing ferocity straining on her nerves. _ "You are in no place to make such decisions. Cease all unnecessary comments."_

Anna mentally shrank away and felt her burst of bravado vanish under the crushing weight of his command. Something in him had changed ever since the skirmish with Prowl. His voice had grown steadily sharper, his words more clipped, and the pure coiled aggression she could feel vibrating down the bond continually intensified. Simply put, he was scaring her.

"You," Barricade bit so sharply Anna had first thought he was addressing her. "Will locate the other Autobots or I will _deactivate_ this human."

Wheeljack's internal systems were taking up an unhealthy whine and at this range Anna could hear the clanking of his armor as his tremors became more violent.

Prowl was the first to dare breaking the verbal silence, his monotone contrasting sharply with Barricade's hanging threat. "Terminating the human has a 97.68 percent probability of causing permanent if not fatal damage to your spark. I suggest you come up with a better bargaining piece."

"Prowl!" Wheeljack barked in disbelief. The jerky movement from his twisting head came at the price of his balance. He caught himself shakily on the tree that groaned under his weight his free hand firmly planted to the ground. His face contorted into a grimace and he sat eerily for the span of a few minutes.

Anna's heart swelled. It physically hurt her to see him in so much pain. He needed Ratchet, badly. She threw all of her doubts away then. If Barricades strange obsession with getting the sparkling somewhere safe would help her locate the medic sooner then it didn't matter if she had somehow inadvertently betrayed the Autobots. Now, she had to focus on keeping Barricade from terminating Wheeljack and by extension Prowl.

Anna felt anger surge so strongly from Barricade it had felt like a physical wall of repulsion pushing against her. He wasn't just pissed, he was livid. So much so that his grip spasmed, forcing air out of her lungs and she swore she heard her ribs creak. Being a stress toy was really starting to get old if not exceedingly unhealthy. He seemed to be getting more and more careless with the way he handled her and Anna was afraid he might end up killing her on accident. Though she was slightly pissed at Prowl for making Barricade tense she had to hand it to him, she had never seen or felt Barricade get so angry before.

Nobody moved for a tense moment and Anna held her breath as she felt Barricade's thoughts rolling in her head. Finally, he took several steps back, dragging Wheeljack's weapon with his foot. When he was a good couple of yards away she heard his chest moving, spreading aside to reveal some sort of chamber. Anna couldn't see it from her position near his waist, but she could hear when Whitenoise clicked curiously from above. She tried her best to twist around and look up but it was impossible.

Wheeljack had the most noticeable reaction. His servos dug into the earth and stripped the bark of his tree in scarring gouges. His optics flashed between all of them before deciding on watching Barricade wearily. Anna wondered what his was thinking. Would he be able to figure them out? Or was he just as confused and divided as everyone else?

The plates clicked back into place and Whitenoise's chirps were suddenly cut off, leaving another tense silence in his wake. Barricade didn't allow it to linger for long.

"Comply or the sparkling dies. And mark my word _Autobot_, the human will be next," he rumbled.

Anna felt a chill run down her spine at the cold conviction in his voice and very much wanted to be anywhere but in the clutches of the Decepticon. She turned pleading eyes on Wheeljack who was watching her intently. She was partly wishing he could magically get her out of this mess like he always seemed to be so brilliant at doing, and the other half of her wanted him to _run_; neither things he could do and it made her feel even more powerless.

"The process will take time," Prowl suddenly spoke, taking charge for both him and Wheeljack. "Communications were stripped and their codes scrambled on a core level."

"How long?" Barricade clipped, not bothering to ask for details.

Prowl coolly replied, "Approximately two earth days, if at all with my limited supplies."

Anna felt Barricade's growl tremble all the way to the claw that held her. "Two days. No more."

Several hours later, or what she perceived to be several hours later, Anna found herself becoming immensely enamored with the scars running across Barricade's servos. She at least assumed they were scars. They were slightly discolored bands of gray against silver and black and were often long neat cuts, never jagged. Normally she would have never noticed them, let alone taken the time to single them out from the normal scratches and dings received through fighting and general everyday life. Not that the last few months were the definition of normal, but this definitely took the cake.

Barricade had been holding her at a lax grip in his hand while diligently pointing his blaster at the two Autobots silently working on a black box sprouting multi-colored wires. It passed between their hands as they fiddled with the device and every now and then Wheeljack would snatch it from Prowl despite his higher up being in the middle of tweaking it and completely undo the work that had been done. Anna swore she heard Jack reprimand him each time it happened and she was again impressed with Prowl's patience. He might have been mentally glaring and cursing her uncle but outwardly he had the patience of a saint.

The scenario reminded her too much of when she would work on school projects with Wheeljack; except she would act on her compulsions to curse and glare, sometimes bodily attacking him in the process. She would do a step wrong and Jack would promptly stop her hands or take it the object being worked on all together saying, "No, no, you're doing it wrong! Here it's like this! See? Doesn't that make it work so much better?"

She saw everything her uncle had ever done with her in a new light. Many of his strange quirks and seemingly crazy attitude suddenly made so much more sense. It would be impossible to think of him as only the annoying uncle ever again.

Tools and parts would spring into sight during the devices construction and Anna was confused by a blaringly obvious problem and wondered if Barricade was just stupid or impatient. She was guessing the latter out of self preservation. Outwardly, the two Autobots appeared to be unarmed but the transformers as a whole had a knack for pulling things out of seemingly thin air, and they were all soldiers. There was high doubt in her that they only carried one weapon on their person. Anna wasn't about to alert Barricade to the glaring flaws if he hadn't already realized it himself. She wasn't sure if it was out of spite, terror, or shame; but a small part of her wanted Prowl and Wheeljack to catch the 'Con off guard and gain the upper hand. If her silence would provide them with that window then she wouldn't be the one to ruin it.

The air was still unbelievably tense, most of the coiled aggression coming from Barricade, but she had been subjected to such feelings for so long now, between the last few days, that she felt partially desensitized to it. At least to the point she felt bored enough to start counting the scars visible to her. It didn't help her stomach was growling again. The meager energy bar had been hardly substantial.

An urge struck her at seeing a rather long scar compared to the others and she couldn't help but brush her finger down the line of it curving around the digit incasing her torso where it disappeared over the edge and out of site. It was rough and puckered like the spot had been welded together without much care and it was nearly the width of her hand. She wasn't an alien specialist but she guessed it must have hurt when it happened.

"_Stop that," _Barricade chided her in an uncharacteristically subdued way. She supposed it was from his split attention.

Anna retracted her hand and settled with inspecting it visually. _"Are these scars?"_

He actually shifted to look down at her. _"Yes human." _Again he sounded half distracted.

There was a silence over a span of a few heartbeats before Anna spoke up again, _"How did you get this one?" _She bravely traced the same scar.

She knew she was probably asking for her death warrant, engaging the 'Con in casual conversation, but damned if she wasn't going to do something about the heavy silence hanging in the air. Not to mention her curiosity was now spiked.

"_Why?" _he replied tersely.

He wanted to know why she was asking? It was because she had a death wish. _"Yer' a soldier arent' you? You must have some interesting stories behind them."_

Barricade mentally grunted, _"War is not interesting; war is survival. It culls the weak and stupid." _

Anna fell quiet. Barricades words had come with a sour taste that gave her a feeling of tiresome, never ending conflict. They also painfully reminded her of who she had lost. Kaden and her dad were never weak or stupid. Tyler and John had undoubtedly fit the bill but the formula still felt messed up. It hit her strongly then; she really was in the middle of a war. Not only was she not a soldier and knew nothing about fighting but she had been dragged into a millennia-old conflict that she felt she had no stake in. Anna wanted to scream this wasn't her war but knew that wasn't true anymore. She might not have chosen to be a part of it but the proverbial monster didn't discriminate or point fingers, everyone was fair game. The only question was- what side was she on? The Autobots would probably cast her out after learning what she had done, or simply for being attached by some life-force to their enemy; and judging by Barricades reaction to her Anna thought she could safely assume they wouldn't give her a warm welcome. For as much as she didn't trust a large majority of the Autobots, she didn't want to be thrown to the wolves to fend for herself. Anna felt like she only had two options left; to be locked up like a criminal for hell only knew how long with Barricade crawling through her head, or be killed quickly by the Decepticons who saw her species only as a nuisance. Either choice looked rather bleak.

"_Laser fire," _Barricade suddenly rumbled through her head. Anna scrunched her nose in confusion before realizing she had been mindlessly tracing the scar. She jerked her hand away and was going to mutter an automatic apology when he cut her off. _"Had my own weapon shot out of my hand." _Strangely, his voice carried none of the previous tension.

More unaccounted time passed until Anna had to squint against the setting sun. Crickets had begun chirping and flocks of birds she couldn't see were making a racket about the trees. She sagged further in Barricades grip and tried to stave off the urge to squirm. In the time they had been waiting she had counted to five hundred and back again, counted the blades of grass until she lost track, and mind-numbingly watched Wheeljack and Prowl make silent motions with each other as they worked. There had been too much time to think and she had spent all if trying to figure out how to not let her mind wonder. There were only so many things in a forest she could count.

Anna twisted her back again to try and settle into a different position and felt Barricade's servos flex away in response. He had been rather silent, deciding not to speak with her anymore than the small bit she had gotten out of him earlier, not that she had pried any further. But she was beginning to wonder if the restlessness was hers alone. Barricade hadn't moved for hours except for the occasional shift of his weight. Robot or not, his body must have been screaming at him to move or at least sit down.

Anna yawned loudly, stretching her jaw until it popped. She felt a bit awkward when Prowl and Wheeljack glanced her way. Her eyes sheepishly bulged and she ducked her head in embarrassment. By the time she began nodding off a muffled bang mildly registered in her brain but it was the trailing mental _"For pits sake!"_ that shot her to attention.

"Huh?" she stupidly asked aloud.

Barricade made a half pained, half annoyed growl that sounded odd coming from him. It had to have been by the way both Autobots had completely ceased working and were now staring at her and the 'Con. Not a second later an ear shattering wailing rose from the vicinity of Barricade's chest. Anna cringed and at the loudness of it despite the muffled quality.

"Why is he doing that?" She asked above the noise.

Normally her response would have been, "What does he want?" But Whitenoise had proved to be nothing like a human infant. He hadn't made a peep for hours, that was until now, which was just downright unnatural for anything his age.

Barricade dropped her on the ground and she had started transforming before she even hit the dirt. It didn't really hurt, just more so surprised her. Before she could contemplate running to the Autobots Barricade's fully transformed altmode revved its engine at her and he lurched forwards on his tires with urgency.

"_Get in! Now!" _he snarled.

His engine gunned again, pushing the grill of his cruiser form into her knees. Anna scrambled to her feet to avoid being run over and darted into the half open passenger seat that shut so quickly it smacked her in the aft. Once inside she glanced nervously around the interior where Whitenoise's cries seemed to be coming from everywhere. She didn't have to guess where he was when the glove compartment suddenly opened and expanded unnaturally before promptly deposit a screaming sparkling in her lap.

"Make him cease that racket!" Barricade boomed from all around her.

Anna panicked. "How!"

"His fuel tank has lowered and I don't have any energon his systems can digest!"

"Are you saying he's hungry?"

"No, femme! I'm saying he's jumping for treats!"

Anna froze. Had Barricade just tried to make a joke? It hadn't been the right words exactly but the dripping sarcasm was something she hadn't expected.

"Well _excuse_ me! I'm not an alien baby expert!" She snapped back.

She made a loud, exasperated sound. "White? White! Here look at my shirt! You like it right? Pretty shirt. La bonita camisa!"

She had grabbed a fistful of fabric and had practically shoved it in the sparklings face in an attempt to grab his attention. It seemed to work as his big optics turned towards her hand and his high pitched wailing stuttered. It was when he trailed up what was attached to her hand, her face to be exact, that he ceased all tearless crying and made the weirdest three-sixty Anna had ever seen in her life. He made a half normal chirp and curled up in her lap before letting out an odd cooing noise that died into a cat-like purr.

Anna blinked at him nestling into her stomach and hesitated with a hand hovering over him where she had been ready to dislodge a combatant youngling.

"Thank Primus," Barricade sighed and Anna could literally feel him sink into his shocks. She made a wild guess that this fit had been long in coming and Barricade had been dealing with a subdued version of it for a while now. It made her sympathetic for him, if only a little bit.

"So…what was his problem?" she asked after enough time to get a small breather.

"Pit if I know. I'm not a caretaker model."

That sounded like an excuse but she wasn't going to push it. Instead she looked out his tented windows at the Autobots who were wearily watching them. They hadn't even moved an inch.

"Um, Cade? How long are you planning on staying this way?" He felt clearly confused and rightfully irritated so she corrected herself before he had to ask. "I mean as a car."

"For as long as it takes," he answered cryptically.

She sighed then announced, "I'm going to get in the back and try to get some sleep."

She didn't dare get out so she climbed over his center consul, a bit hesitantly since she half expected him to throw a rebuke, to the black leather seats spanning the crammed back. He didn't say anything as she carefully laid down and settled herself to face the front and tucked Whitenoise in the cave of her stomach.

Sleeping inside of Barricade again was the last thing she wanted to do. Last time it hadn't turned out to be all that pleasant when she stowed away in his trunk and it just felt like a weird idea to be sleeping inside of someone, highschool-fit inducing innuendos aside. She also couldn't take the Autobots staring at her for much longer. The whole situation just went from tense to awkward to a mix of both.

* * *

"_No Sacrifice, no Victory."_

"_Listen to me, you're a soldier now!"_

"_Is it fear or courage that compels you fleshling?"_

"_Optimus!"_

Voices. There were so many voices ringing in her head that it was impossible to discern one from the other. Slowly, Anna felt like she was waking from a foggy sleep but when she opened her eyes there was nothing but blackness and the ceaseless cacophony of voices. They sounded familiar but she couldn't quite put her finger on who they belonged to. They increased alarmingly, speeding up as if on a voice recording until they blurred into an incomprehensible sound. It hurt her head and she tried to cringe away or cover her hears but her limbs wouldn't respond. She started to panic, the feeling of drowning in the voices flooding her lungs. It was then she saw a pair of slanted red optics. Immediately she thought it was Barricade and mentally tried to reach out if not physically, but stopped cold when the shadows around it grayed and a face began to form. It was thinner and sharper than Barricade's, an elongated metal skull and a boney-like gills blurred muddily into shape as if it was emerging from behind a sheet of static and was slowly arranging itself into being.

Anna felt a chill rundown her spine as the voices ceased and she was forced to watch that face slowly become clearer and closer. Something inside her instinctively shied away and tried to shock her limbs into moving anywhere that was away from the creature. It was wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.

"There you are, my illusive All-spark." The drawling rasp shocked Anna awake, a massive fog literally vanishing from her mind.

"'Cade?" She mumbled.

Anna jolted, her limbs jerking heavily with the attempt like something was trying to physically pin her down. "Cade?" She tried to reach out for Barricade, searching for that mental link that naturally came to her. Instead of Barricade though, she came in contact with something that could only be described as _not_ Barricade. Like a different energy or being all together. She couldn't explain it but it felt distinctively different. It was…warmer and larger, softer, yet hardened like steel. She hesitated after mentally slamming head first into it, shying back away from the proverbial wall uncertainly. What was it? _Who_ was it?

The wall of energy rippled in response and slowly expanded to 'touch' her with hesitance and a small bit of curiosity. She was scared of what it might be and mentally pulled slowly away from the brushing consciousness, frightened it might lash out if she jerked away. She was shaking but it felt stronger than a physical level, she couldn't really feel her body in this strange place.

The malice behind her grew, it was closing in. She felt trapped. If she went backwards then that _thing_ would get her, if she went forwards, even a little, she would run into that other energy she wasn't quite sure about yet. The other energy was unnervingly close; it was brushing tentatively at her as if still trying to figure her out. She had to have been dreaming some sort of messed up nightmare, there was no other explanation. But it felt too real.

"Allspark. Come to me."

A shimmer of fear coursed through her like nothing she had ever experienced before. It was like being called by a demon. She couldn't withhold the whimper. Where was Barricade? He had to be around, she wasn't sure why but she felt so sure he was somewhere within arms reach, she just couldn't see him in the dark.

The brushing energy in front of her suddenly flared, no longer hesitating; it washed over her and engulfed her with a warmth that flowed _through_ her like she had just dived into the glow of the sun on a warm day. She hadn't realized how _cold_ she had felt until that energy surrounded her and chased it away. Even the creeping presence behind her suddenly vanished, a loud snarl dying in its wake.

"_Hello?" _She mentally asked the 'energy'. It didn't seem so scary now that she was in it but she still felt uncertain. Would it turn on her?

"_Fear not youngling. You are safe now."_

The voice was warm and resonating as it filled her and she was shocked at how familiar it sounded. She knew that voice.

"_Optimus?"_

She felt a mental pause then a searching sensation that seemed to be asking her permission to know who she was.

"_That is my designation," _he said slowly.

There was no way she was mistaking his voice. Her heart soared.

"_Optimus! It's me, Annabelle!"_

A sudden sense of _knowing_ flared from him.

"_I see. This has happened once before, hasn't it? Are you well?" _

She mentally snorted. She was talking to him in limbo, her sleep, whatever the heck a person could call the place and he was making casual conversation as if she were standing right in front of him.

Less humorously she said, _"I'm alive...or the last time I checked I was. Wait, Optimus, where are you? The other Autobots?"_

"_One question at a time youngling. I am glad you are well but I fear I know not where I am and the same goes for my comrades."_

Anna tried to slow down and mentally promised to ask one question at a time. It wasn't a solid thought and she hadn't direct it anywhere but she felt a flexation of acknowledgement and encouragement to continue. This felt so much more personal than what she had with Barricade.

"_Do you remember the crazy EA group?"_

"_The human extremist group you called to my attention. Yes I remember."_

She mentally cringed, hoping that insane group hadn't changed his entire perception of the human race. Optimus radiated nothing but steadfast reassurance. So she took a deep breath.

"_They're the ones who destroyed the base and carted y'all off somewhere." _

Optimus seemed to be thinking so she respectfully waited for him to sort through his memories. It was a tugging sensation she felt so strongly she thought it would have been easy to almost literally peep over his shoulder and look but steadfastly refrained for the sake of his own privacy. He seemed to subconsciously appreciate the gesture-thought.

"_I think-I remember now. Yes. The file is corrupted and intermediate but I remember an attack and being taken somewhere against my will. But after that I cannot recall anything of use. I am sorry."_ He paused as if waiting for those missing memories to resurface before continuing shortly after. _"This troubles you greatly, but there is also something else?"_

Anna was shocked at the emotion he had picked up on that she hadn't even realized she had been conveying until he brought it to her attention.

"_Yes. A lot is actually,"_ she admitted. _"There are some weird circumstances and right now Barricade, Wheeljack, Prowl and I are trying to find you and the rest of the Autobots."_

She thought he wouldn't believe her, especially with Barricade thrown into the mix but he seemed to easily accept the idea of a Decepticon working with his Autobots. She cringed a bit since that wasn't even close to true. Optimus understood immediately and was sternly disapproving at the thought of his Autobots subject to a hostage situation. She felt bad all over again like it had been her fault. Reassurance flooded her and chased the doubt away. How could he be so trusting or so sure that she was innocent and telling him the whole truth?

"_And," _she tried to continue through the bombardment of feelings, _"Jack was badly injured in the attack on the base. Prowl did something to help him but he needs Ratchet; badly. I don't know how much longer he'll last without help."_

Optimus received all the fear she felt for her Uncle and she felt an echoing fear filled with an ache that was almost palatable. The news had hit him just as hard as when she first saw Wheeljack bleeding on the ground.

She swallowed hard. _"So you have to try and tell me where you are so we can get y'all out of there_ _and get Jack some help."_

Anna couldn't hide the desperation and impatience she felt even as she fitfully tried to reel her emotions in.

"_I will try,"_ He offered with the first bulge of doubt she had sensed swelling from him.

She felt odd and like it wasn't her place but she couldn't help but send him her own reassurance. If anyone could do it, he could. The doubt plagued him further with her silent conviction and she quickly reeled back. She wouldn't see him as a lesser being or lose faith in him if he couldn't do it. She understood he couldn't be Super Man, million or more year old alien or not. Transformer ages still boggled her mind.

There was something about her feelings that gave Optimus pause but she couldn't figure out what he made of them. His attention had shifted back to the task too quickly and he was fully dedicated.

She wasn't sure if it had been hours or mere seconds, time flow here was strange, but she felt the snap when his attention was back solely on her.

* * *

Anna woke with a start, sitting up so suddenly Whitenoise had to cling to her shirt to keep from falling on the floor and he chirped unhappily. Barricade's engine revved loudly and his entire frame vibrated as she felt him flood her conscious in a way that was definitely foreign.

"_What is it now femme?" _He rang out loud and in her head

She clutched Whitenoise and steadied the angrily glaring sparkling in her lap. "I know where they are."

* * *

**Author's note:** I've been doing a lot of time skips lately and they're in novel style instead of broken up by lines. I hope I'm not confusing y'all too much or annoying anyone by them. There just simply isn't anything interesting going on between them.

I wasn't particularly happy about this chapter though I could never exactly pinpoint what bugged me. I think it might have been the grammar that I felt went AWOL and the structure of thought seemed scattered; to me at least.


	35. Chapter 35

**Author notes: **Has-has it been over a year since I last updated? I feel horrible! I know there's nothing worse than when a story you like suddenly drops off the radar. Writers Block Canyon shows no mercy, but I think I've managed to crawl back out of it. I haven't abandoned this story and I'm trying to plow on through it even though I'm struggling to do so. Part of the issue is I feel my style of writing has changed which makes it hard to jot things down and stay satisfied with them. I lost track of how many times I tore this chapter apart and rewrote it after about the sixth attempt. I want to finish AoD because I have another TF story I really want to start, but I don't want to get too into it and neglect this one.

You can probably thank the new _Fall of Cybertron_ game for boosting my desire to write transformers fiction again. It's a visual and auditory treat that I had a lot of fun with it. Bay needs to pair up with High Moon if he ever does another movie, they know how to tell a Transformers story. The only downfall is how short the game is, the campaign's not even ten hours, such a pity.

I want to give a huge thank you to everyone who has reviewed in my absence. Your encouragement, questions about what will happen next (I normally don't reply to these since they are usually about topics that will be revealed soon and I don't want to spoil anyone, but I still love knowing I have your brains cooking), and pushing to get my aft up and write something have always put a big, dumb grin on my face.

Oh Transformers and fanfiction, how I have missed you (cuddles).

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Transformers

* * *

Barricade was skeptical and rightfully so. When Anna shot awake, claiming to suddenly know where the Autobots were, he wondered if she hadn't suffered from what humans called a stroke. Despite his cynicism, she persisted to tell the story of her conversation with Optimus in the dream realm she had unofficially dubbed Limbo. At the moment Anna was sitting on the edge of the back seats, leaning with her arms crossed over the center consul, and was pinning his dashboard with a glare.

"When I'm asleep do you ever feel random emotions? Say, I get scared, or suddenly feel insanely happy with no explanation because I'm obviously…" her eyes roamed the cabin. "In recharge?"

Barricade grumbled an "Affirmative," that sounded oddly like an automatic nod from a person who was distinctly not listening. She tapped the consul and gave him a sour glare.

"Your human REM cycle is an irritating distraction but no different from your normal state." His attention was still largely on the quietly conversing Autobots who kept their heads down and turned sideways so Barricade was always in their sites.

"Well," she continued. "What emotion did you feel from me just now while I was asleep?"

A silence lulled between them that Anna might have appreciated if it weren't for the quiet, but angry buzzing in the back of her head that had been recently accompanying Barricade's thought processes. She listened to Whitenoise's recharging clicks cut in and out with the morning birds to pass the time and resisted the urge to pet his curled up body like she often did with Kaden when he slept on the couch. A strike of pain shot through her chest and she fought off a pricking sensation at the corners of her eyes.

"I didn't feel anything." Barricade's voice had dropped to a low octave that brought her to the present with a shiver

His words were confirmation enough towards the feeling of emotional detachment she'd experience from him while still retaining the sense of his presence in Limbo. It was hard to explain the feeling of their connection; she compared it to that of a prickling six-sense from someone looking over her shoulder. At the same time his emotions would strike with the inconsistency and potency of electricity that bubbled over and through her skin.

"So. I can't be faking this, right? Think about it. This could be the Allspark's doing. The tamest thing its ever done is blot out my vision with cybertronian gibberish. Optimus spoke with me and I think I know where he is."

She listened to the wordless buzz in her head for all of five minutes before Barricade began grumbling in a way that made her quirk a smile.

"I can't believe I'm doing this. Get out and take the sparkling with you."

Anna pushed his door open and stepped out onto the grass with a confused Whitenoise standing next to her. Barricade transformed, his flying limbs crushing the terra firma under his feet, and set his ruby optics on the two alert Autobots. Wheeljack glanced at Anna and she gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. She couldn't help but notice how tired and banged up they both looked. Even Prowl's usually erect door wings were slightly slumped, and she wasn't sure, but she could have sworn the light in their cyan optics was duller than usual. Anna felt another pang of guilt and thought the sooner they could find the others, the better.

"Change of plans, Autobots. We're leaving. Now." Barricade flicked his wrist to un-subspace a pistol and aimed at the Autobots.

There was a curious glint to Wheeljack's optics when he asked, "You know where they are?"

"Just get moving before I blow your glow stick cranial off."

Anna tensed but realized she wasn't all that angry at Barricade for insulting her uncle. Rather, she found a smile cracking through and tried her damndest to hide it.

Barricade brandished his weapon in the direction he wanted the bots to move and bent down to offer his free claw to Anna once they were a good few paces ahead.

"_Get on." _His voice reverberated through her head.

Anna climbed up with Whitenoise in tow and Barricade's talons closed around her like a cage.

The Autobots led the way, batting aside offending tree branches and uprooting vegetation. Barricade wasn't as patient and snapped tree limbs with nearly every step. The forest was dense with tall pines and a challenge for anyone cybertronian size to transverse, and Barricade displayed his displeasure, much to Whitenoise's amusement, by blasting a couple of trees blocking his path with a string of cybertronian curses, verbal and non, that were nearly lost to the sound of flying bark imbedding into nearby tree trunks like deadly spikes.

The deserted highway wasn't too far, a mile or so Anna guessed, saving the forest from any extensive demolition. Prowl and Barricade were quick to transform but it took Wheeljack several minutes longer. His body showered sparks and the resounding crunching of metal that managed to cause Anna's own joints to ache. Even while leaking different colored fluids onto the grey pavement, Wheeljack took up the lead with Prowl close behind and Barricade taking up the rear. Anna guessed Prowl's strategic move was to place himself between Wheeljack and Barricade incase the latter decided to suddenly snap, something she was grateful for. Anna liked to think Barricade was at least putting up with Wheeljack because of her radiation of mental wrath and a threat to dismember the Decepticon and test if suicide would really take the con with her.

"You wouldn't happen to have any more of those magically appearing food bars on you?" Anna asked late into the afternoon.

Barricade incoherently growled in his own language, his first verbal sound in hours. A compartment appeared to reveal a familiar aluminum wrapper. She wanted to kick the 'Con for purposely holding out on her a few hours ago when she had asked the very same thing.

He offered a curt explanation as if he could read her mind. "I don't have much human fuel so it has to be used sparingly."

She didn't understand his need to ration food since she could have just walk into one of the thousands of stores they had passed and used Galloway's card to buy her whatever she needed. Anna felt an itch to use the bastard's money and rack up as much debt as she could before the card was noticed to be missing and cut off from his bank account.

"Where do you get these anyway?" She asked while taking the offered item and tearing into the noisy wrapper. Whitenoise was intrigued by the crackling sound and Anna let him have the empty foil. She had finished her dinner without an answer so she came up with her own theory.

"Don't tell me you just popped your hologram into a store and bought them." She might have died laughing at the idea of Barricade standing in line at a convenience store, or at least the faces people would have given his severe-faced projection.

He rumbled defensively. "I did nothing of the sort femme, and there is nothing humorous about those images. There isn't enough time to pursue such fantasies or your inefficient ways of trade."

"Then what is an efficient way?"

"To take what you can get when you can get it. Bartering for goods takes away too much time that can be utilized elsewhere."

"Transformers have to have an economy? There's no way y'all don't have some kind of system."

"It's not that simple, human. In our war you're either a soldier or dead, and soldiers can't afford to be burdened with anything more than guns. Fuel and shelter are often provided or scavenged so there is no want for anything but the death of our foes and the retaking of Cybertron."

No matter what way she looked at it she couldn't understand his obsession with war. Surely there was something he did other than eat, sleep, and kill. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker spent their off time pulling pranks and generally enjoying themselves, so why couldn't Barricade?

"You don't have a hobby?" she inquired.

"I have a job."

"Ouch." Work-a-holic much. "You mentioned retaking Cybertron. Do you mean from the Autobots?"

A buzz began building in Anna's ears as a silence began to stretch uneasily between them.

"You wouldn't understand," he finally said.

Anna wanted to say "try me," but Whitenoise tugged on Anna's shirt with a sharp click.

"What is it White?" she asked over softly playing music.

He looked up at her with his big violet optics and chirped with a mesh of strange sounds.

Anna grimaced. "That's nice," she said, and stroked his head like she had always done to Kaden when he clearly wanted something but she had no idea what. Whitenoise wriggled away from her touch and chirped sharply before letting out a quiet whine. Barricade killed the radio not a second later and Whitenoise buried his head into her stomach and curled up like a lap dog. He went unnervingly still.

Anna looked at Barricade's steering column then glanced at his hologram as it flickered and died.

"Cade?" She whispered over the sound of his motor. Her stomach coiled uncomfortably. "Is everything ok?"

The previously quiet buzzing built in her ears until it became loud static, then it broke away to silence as she heard a voice in her mind as clear as if they had been standing next to her, and it was definitely _not_ Barricade's.

"_State your location." _The low-key monotone of those three words bathed her in a pool of ice.

"_Near the southern Colorado boarder." _Barricade answered tightly.

Anna held her breath and tried to suppress the questions rolling through her mind. Whoever it was she didn't want them to know about her listening in just because of a casual slip of thought. She didn't want to chance the possibility of the sudden connection working both ways.

The voice spoke again. _"Disengage from previous orders and set a new destination appropriate to the incoming data packet."_

The voice hadn't even finished speaking when Anna saw within her minds-eye a scrolling series of cybertronian characters that flashed faster than she could track

"_Received and acknowledged,"_ Barricade confirmed stiffly, and continued after a heartbeat of silence filled by his seeping sense of doubt and restlessness. _"What is Starscream's plan now?"_

The voice replied coldly, _"Negative. Starscream is irrelevant. The order is from Megatron."_

Barricades instruments flashed, his motor suddenly died, and they rolled to a complete stop. Prowl and Wheeljack stomped on their breaks with a sharp squeal of tires but Barricade hardly seemed to notice. Anna's chest clenched painfully in tandem with Barricade's and she could literally feel his thoughts twisting like tendrils of electricity.

"_Very well,"_ he said at last, his voice steady. _"It will take several Earth weeks to reach the new location by my current means of transportation."_

"_Acknowledged. Soundwave out."_

Anna didn't wait once the buzzing sound returned. "What plan?" Of all the questions rubbing her the wrong way she decided to bite the hardest bullet first.

Anna _felt _Barricade make a mental shake and his attention inwardly shift. "I already told you not to ask questions."

She scowled, and before she could retort, a different monotone voice filled her head, this one brisk with impatience.

"_What is the dysfunction?"_

"_Prowl?" _she immediately thought in confusion.

To her shock Prowl addressed her in his distinct voice. "_Annabelle swift. This is Barricade's communication channel, is it not?"_

"_I-what? Communication channel? What's going on?" _

Barricade took on the courtesy of answering for her. _"Silence, you insufferable femme."_

She did just that and shut her gaping mouth. What the frag was going on? Now she was hearing multiple voices in her head. At least she was only hearing them and not sharing her innermost emotions.

"_And you,"_ Barricade snapped pointedly at Prowl. _"Keep moving Autobot."_

Anna felt a sense of urgency under his words and worried he might be considering turning right around and following those orders.

Wheeljack and Prowl rumbled forwards and Barricade followed close behind with a renewed push for speed.

Once they had been moving for at least ten minutes, Whitenoise uncurled himself and clambered into the backseat, chittering happily as if nothing had happened.

"So, why am I hearing other voices in my head now?" She asked aloud.

Barricade was agitated and she couldn't blame him.

"Those _voices_ are directly fed from my internal communication channel. Don't start mucking with it," he snapped briskly.

Barricade reactivated his hologram and Anna glared at it. "Oh trust me, I will, because I _like_ hearing voices."

Barricade snarled. "I'm warning you. I'm about two nanoseconds from blasting you to pieces and I don't give a slag if it deactivates me."

She rolled her eyes and slouched back into the seat.

* * *

A day later, neither she nor Barricade had spoken further about the monotone voice. Currently, she had her eyes closed and was trying to focus on Optimus' residual essence. She concentrated on remembering the warm glow that had made her feel small and insignificant, yet protected at the same time. Optimus was the polar opposite of Barricade, calm and steady with the authority of a parent. Anna briefly wondered how things could have been different if she had been forcefully connected to him instead of Barricade. Surprisingly, if given the chance, she would choose Barricade again. Anna knew she would become too complacent, possibly even dependent on such a figure as Optimus. With Barricade she was always on her toes, and she would never admit it, but she was beginning to enjoy the spats they had with each other.

There, to the south, a few miles away she could feel the waning connection. Though weak, it was easy to distinguish in sharp contrast to Barricade's electric energy.

"I found him, but it's weak."

"Where?" The 'con demanded, and pulled off on the side of the road. Everything looked the same from the mental picture Optimus had sent her. NASA stood tall and proud in the background, a warehouse out front sheltering the massive rocket that she remembered had once sat out in the open when she last visited as a little kid.

Anna pointed across the grass to a line of trees cut back from the complex. They drove over the field and transformed at the tree line. Irritated, Barricade swiped the closest tree in half.

"You have quite a temper with Earth's foliage." Wheeljack's ears flashed in amusement and Anna had to agree with her alien uncle.

"I would rather he take it out on the trees than us." Prowl shot the inventor a look that Wheeljack wordlessly flashed at and Anna knew he was sporting a grin.

Barricade either missed the exchange or didn't care as he scanned the forest. "There is an absence of buildings within a half mile radius."

"What makes you so certain they're in there?" Wheeljack questioned.

Barricade flickered his gaze downward in Anna's direction and Prowl followed, the SIC giving her an inquisitive look.

Anna fidgeted under his gaze and Whitenoise chirped. The last thing she wanted was for the Autobots to know about her ability to speak with Barricade telepathically. They would never trust her again, that is, if they didn't already suspect her. She didn't want to think about the medical exams or possible psychiatric treatments other humans would want to force her through if they didn't lock her away or declare her an international danger.

"Let me have a look. I'll scout ahead." She offered under Prowl's scrutinizing gaze.

"Absolutely not! There-"

"Is a useful idea, for once." Barricade cut Wheeljack off and Anna could feel the relief hidden in his words at the prospect of foregoing another trek through the woods. "Take Whitenoise with you and have him contact me if you find anything."

Whitenoise chirped happily and transformed without being asked. Anna picked his iPod form out of the grass and wondered just how smart the sparking was at only four days old.

"_Won't you lose your immunity from being attacked with both of us gone?"_ Anna quietly asked Barricade through the link.

If he was gunned down she would most likely follow in death no matter how far away she managed to run.

"_Don't underestimate me human. I have a chainsaw," _she detected a sadistic glee beneath his words.

Anna snorted; drawing odd looks from both Autobots. She nodded to them and took her leave into the knee high weeds and pine trees.

She felt a small weight lift from her when the transformers were out of sight, but the relief paled in comparison to the guilt that kept her from taking her sudden freedom to bolt. If she hadn't felt responsible for this mess, she would have used her sudden freedom as an opportunity to escape. A branch scratched her arm for the third time and Anna could feel the annoyance in Barricade flare. She didn't want take harming herself a habit but she drew some amusement from the con's reaction to her-their stinging arm. It was easy to see why he possessed such distaste for wading through the woods. Anna was three times smaller and she was still having trouble navigating the close foliage. She wasn't entirely sure what she was looking for either. Somehow, she doubted Earth Alliance could hide a bunch of transformers in the trees.

After a few breems Barricade contacted her.

"_Well?"_ An alien of many words.

"_I don't see anything yet, but I think I'm getting closer."_

Truthfully, in lack of a better word, the strong presence of Optimus felt closer. She wasn't sure how to explain it to Barricade, let alone herself, but she sent the 'con her feelings of assurance that she was close.

"_Ten minutes. Then you turn around and come back."_ The order was laced with tension and caused her to forget her annoyance at the sense of ownership behind the words.

"_What? Don't tell me you're not bonding with the Autobots."_

Barricade sputtered, making all sorts of strange sounds that should have translated even if they were in his own language, yet failed to.

"_Just get back here!"_ He finally managed to say.

Anna was mildly amused by the utter disgust suddenly pouring from him.

"_Cade, are you feeling ok or did you just glitch like my grandmother's antique printer?"_

Anna could feel his temper rise, but without his impressive size and quad eyes to glower down at her, snarky comments poured from her when they would usually be held hostage in her head.

"_Don't call me that,"_ he snapped.

She cursed sharply, cutting off the tail end of his snarl.

She didn't think she had passed Optimus but his presence was fading like a dying flame, sputtering and flickering.

"Whitenoise." She pulled the sparkling out of her back pocket and spoke to his blank screen which flashed to show he was listening.

"Do you think you could find anything abnormal nearby? Something not organic? Can you pick up any radio signals and play them back?"

His screen brightened and displayed a wave length that jumped with a garbled mess of local radio stations. Anna was about to give up the air way search when a string of words caught her attention

"Wait, go back."

Whitenoise began playing previous stations until she said "Stop."

"_What did you find?"_ Anna shushed Barricade so she could concentrate even though she could sense his deep seated displeasure at being ignored.

"_Put the crates in the west wing, but make sure they're out of site from the robots."_ The frequency cackled and a "Rodger." Cut through the static.

"Idiots," Anna said with a grin. "White, can you track where it's coming from?" The iPod in her hand chirped and formed an arrow on his screen. Anna was impressed. "Good boy," she praised and the sparkling wiggled in her hand.

Anna followed the arrow through the trees until the screen went black. She tapped it. "What's up?"

White jumped out of her hand to transform and took off at a slow waddle. He chirped and pointed at the ground in front of him and looked up at Anna expectantly. She nit her brow as she inspected the forest floor but found nothing amiss.

"What are you looking at? There's nothing-"

She froze when her foot made a hollow sound.

"Cade," she drawled aloud and in her mind.

"_What?"_

"I think I found where they are."

The ground shuddered and Whitenoise transformed mid leap, landing neatly into Anna's hand. She shoved him into her back pocket and slid, half stumbling, down the rising ramp of foliage, striping dead pines and grass under her feet as the groan of metal machinery rang through the woods.

She crouched behind a tree and watched a flock of grackles take flight, squawking in fright as a forest painted jeep came rolling up from under the raised hatch. It bounced on its suspensions as it navigated the uneven undergrowth and sped down a path that was just barely visible. A set of tire tracks mashed the grass down towards the east and she wondered how she could have missed something so obvious.

The hatch creaked and began lowering to conceal itself once more. Anna looked about the clearing and made a split second decision. This was her ticket inside. She darted for the opening and had to half slide, half crouch to make it underneath. She landed on a concrete incline that was lined with runway lights and followed the path of a road that stretched downwards until it curved up and out of site behind the concrete ceiling. Judging by the cracks in the cement, the weeds managing to grow out of the cracks, and the dirty lighting, the facility was quite old.

The hatch closed above her head with a resounding clang, ceiling the sounds of birds and locusts outside, and leaving only the hollow sound of wind breezing through the tunnel. Anna suddenly felt very alone, and she hated to admit it, scared. She had no idea what was below the tunnels or how she was going to save the Autobots by herself.

Barricade flooded her then, angry warmth that both demanded her attention and drove away the chill of the tunnel's draft.

"_Are you going to tell me what you've found or am I going to have to decapitate this annoying Autobot that refuses to shut-up."_

Anna quirked a brow, not doubted Wheeljack was behind annoying her 'con and wondered just what he was carrying on about. _"You touch one wire on him and I'll personally rip out your spark_," after a breath, she continued. _"To answer your question I found the hideout the Autobots are probably in. I'm somewhere underground, a road that leads further downward. I'm going to check it out."_

"_Don't go any further. I'll rendezvous at your location. In the meantime tell me what you can see." _

Anna placed a hand on the wall and found it strikingly cold compared to the warm summer outside, a chill raced through her arm.

"_I don't see anything except a tunnel. It's all concrete, and I think there's an air duct running overhead_, but that's it."

Anna began walking, unconsciously sticking close to the wall. She wasn't willing to sit around and wait for Barricade to come crashing in with Prowl and Wheeljack. Besides, what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

"_I told you not to move!"_

Anna cringed, wondering if he had the ability to see through her eyes now. It wouldn't be much of a stretch considering how new abnormalities kept popping up between the two of them like a progressive disease.

"_I'm not going to stand in an open corridor where anyone could drive up and see me. Besides, I'm still on recon duty, aren't I?"_

She could feel Barricade's processor turning over, a calculating thought process overriding his near reflexive annoyance. She wished she could read his mind sometimes. It was disconcerting when he wasn't bashing her with insults or commands.

"_Just stay out of sight," _he demanded briskly.

"_Always," _She promised, scoffing at the mere thought of jumping out in front of a group of EA crazies and waving her arms. Maybe she should scream, 'look at me!' for emphasis.

Anna grinned when his voice lowered to a menacing rumble. _"Don't you dare."_

"_Oh, I would dare."_

He growled like a Doberman and she couldn't help but laugh, her voice carrying on echoes down the hall. She clamped a hand over her mouth and hoped no one had heard her. She stood frozen, listening to the hum of ventilation, and relaxed when nothing happened after a minute. Taking jabs at Barricade was only going to get her caught so she clamped down on her thoughts and began walking forwards.

The ramp wasn't as long as she thought. The moment the ceiling curved upwards, the ground leveled out. The road continued a few yards ahead before dead ending at a large elevator wide enough to place a tank on and barricaded by mesh gates. She guessed it was what could take her down to the lower levels where the main facility was. She hoped it wasn't the only entrance and exit.

Jutting out from the wall was a square office, one she ducked under when a body flashed by the open window. It must have been the control center for the gate and she doubted whoever was inside would let her waltz in, and even less so that she could knock them out. Chancing a look, she peeked over the window seal and glanced at what indeed looked like a control room. A man who was possibly in his late forties sat on a stool with two separate dash boards of levers and switches on either side of him. A Bluetooth sat in his ear, pulsing blue light her direction as he leaned back and placed a fresh cigarette in his mouth. On his grey sleeve was a blue and white patch in the shape of a global network with the acronym EA plastid over it. At least she was in the right place.

Anna ducked, squatting low to the ground, and pulled out the bulge in her pocket.  
"White," she whispered. "I have a job for you." She hoped he could hear her because she was afraid to speak louder than the humming in the air.

Whitenoise's screen flashed and a soft beep came with it. "Could you block the electronic in the guy's ear from sending or receiving signals?"

His IPod form shook and he transformed as Anna gave a start. "White!" she scolded, still keeping her voice low. The sparkling walked over to the window without much trouble and gripped the seal to look over it like a curious toddler would to a kitchen counter. Anna did a double take, wondering if he had been that tall the last time he had transformed. She could have sworn he only came up to her knees, now he was close to her waist.

Whitenoise, for lack of a better word, twittered, and a high pitch whine rang in the air, tickling Anna's eardrums. The man in the office jumped from his seat with a holler and his stool went rolling across the floor and clattering to the ground as it fell over in his haste to rip the Bluetooth from his ear. The piece of equipment flew from his pawing hands into the opposite wall and he stood cradling his now bleeding ear.

"Son of a-"

Anna took his stream of cursing as her queue to jump through the window. On top of a table and near the door she saw a tool box, and hoping to find something to whack the man unconscious, grabbed for the first protruding handle she could reach. Her arm dropped with the unexpected weight of the hammer and her heart jump into her throat. She could kill this person if she swung too hard, and murder wasn't on her list of things to do.

The operator held one hand out, palm open, while his other grabbed at his ear. His eyes glanced between her and the weapon.

"Hey! Who are you? What do you think you're doing with that?!"

He made a clumsy grab for her weapon and she easily backed out of his way. In a quick movement Anna flipped the hammer upside down, grabbing the heavy part of the tool, and smashed the handle into his temple.

A guttural scream surged from his throat and he collapsed into a control panel. The blow didn't have the desired effect of knocking him out and his enraged eyes turned on her. Anna's own pupils dilated, this was not good. Taking down a full grown man was proving harder than she thought. She flipped the hammer right side up and had a growing fear that she would have to do some serious damage just to keep the EA officer from mauling her. She was still on their hit list after all.

He lunged, easily twisting her hand to disarm her, and threw her bodily against the wall. Her head smashed into the concrete and stars burst across her vision the moment fibrous pain shot through her skull. Her vision began to clear just in time to see the EA officer advancing, hammer in hand.

"You're that alien sympathizer, everyone thought you were dead." He sounded insulted that she wasn't.

Anna glared through the haze; her head swam as she tried to stand. "And you're all just a bunch of self-conceded jackasses who blew up a military base. You're worse than terrorists, attacking your own country." She started off disappointed then snarled, "And you fuckers killed my dog!" She bull rushed him and with surprise on her side and rammed into his midsection. She brought her knee upwards to incapacitate him in the most painful way possible. He dropped to the ground, losing the hammer as he gripped his privates in a howl of agony. Anna picked up the tool and raised it over her head, ready to beat the living snot out him.

"_Get control of yourself!"_

Anna halted mid swing when Barricades command rang through her mind. The room suddenly became clearer than it was seconds ago and a haze of rage that had settled over her dissipated. She backed away and dropped the hammer where it crashed to the ground. She had almost killed a man in cold blood, in a rage had been hers and hers alone. Whitenoise poked his head inside the door with a whine, his head dropped in a submissively.

"Why did you stop me?" She demanded, speaking her thoughts aloud. Barricade was the last person she expected to stop a murder.

"_Your anger is not only clouding your processor, but mine as well. If you don't want to get us both killed you'll gain control of yourself and focus on the task at hand. There is a difference between being angry and going berserk, and you're dangerously close to crossing a line that has killed many witless idiots."_

"_I didn't-I just-Fine!"_ She still had an urge to pick up the hammer and smash something but when she retrieved the object she merely glared at it.

"_If you want the last laugh you'll have to be smart about it. Smashing objects has its uses but not when you're beating your own processor against them."_

She hadn't voiced her desires allowed but the twitch of her armed hand and the rage radiating from her core probably gave her away.

"_I know, it's just, I hate these bastards." _Anna was momentarily taken aback by the force in her own words. Never in her life had she ever experienced pure hatred towards someone and questioned whether it might be from Barricade's influence.

Her 'con rumbled darkly, _"For once we agree." _

"White!" she barked, turning to the sparkling standing a couple feet behind her. "Make sure there's no way for him," She pointed the EA officer still rolling on the floor and muttering incoherent curses. "-to communicate with anyone outside while I figure out these controls."

Whitenoise gave a low warble and she finally registered his downcast gaze and hunched shoulders. Anna pursed her lips, what was she thinking? This was a transformer kid, not a full grown Decepticon. Of course he would be scared and unsure. She wondered if her mothering instincts even existed as she crouched next to the sparkling.

"Hey, I'm sorry; I just got a little excited. You're fine, ok? We're fine, you did nothing wrong. Shake?"

She held out her hand and internally grimaced. Her words didn't sound the least bit comforting. Even so, Whitenoise placed his hand in hers and seemed to perk up a little, giving a small chirp of recognition.

"That a boy. Do me a favor and watch this bozo while I figure out how to get us inside."

He seemed happier with his new task and walked over to the man and sat a few feet away from him. They glared at each other, well; the EA operator glared "What the hell are you supposed to be? A spy? A walking bomb?"

Whitenoise cocked his head to the side and Anna kicked the man in the shin as she walked by.

"Ouch! Hey, you bitch. I'm gonna-" He tried to stand but collapsed with a grunt of pain. Anna cringed, she must have really messed something up down there, though she didn't feel the least bit sorry for him.

The controls were pretty straight forward, especially since they were labeled. She managed to open the gates surrounding the elevator and set it on a timer before it lowed.

"Come on, we have to go." She held out her hand and Whitenoise transformed. After one last look at the guy on the ground, she left. There was nothing she could do and she wasn't willing to end his life.

The elevator ride was long and slow, the old rusted machinery creaked on its thick cables. She felt a bit nerve wracked from how large the deck was. There were no walls so a gap existed between the ledges on all four sides and it reminded her a lot of the one that had led down to the prison that once contained Barricade.

The lift began to slow and stopped on a floor that looked reminiscent of a warehouse that was teaming with tanks, utility trucks, and personnel. The EA logo was plastered on every shirt, vehicle, and coffee mug in sight. Anna darted for a jeep sitting nearby and crouched behind it. Luckily, no one had spotted her and they appeared non-pulsed by the unmanned lift, not even bothering to glance at it as they passed. A convoy of three trucks drove up its ramp and one of the drivers used an external control panel to take them up to the surface.

We'll, there went her escape route.

She lay on her belly and crawled under the jeep, using the hidden spot to glance out over the work floor. For all its high ceilings and wide space, she couldn't spot a fleck of paint or a set of rims she recognized. There were other large doors that led to other areas but she couldn't see inside them, the Autobots would probably be behind the heaviest guarded door.

A lift zoomed by and she crawled out, catching the sides of it and hitching a ride. The amount of people working seemed to be working to her advantage. Her dark colored shirt allowed her to blend with the sea of greys and blues most others wore. The lift took her to the other side of the room and stopped at a neatly stacked pile of crates. The operator up top was using a clipboard to mark the inventory and had no idea she was below. Anna detached from the machine and noted she was close to another bay door, one that had armed guards stationed outside. She had a strong hunch that was where she needed to go.

The woman manning the lift zoomed away again so Anna took cover behind the crates that undoubtedly held weaponry. She watched the entrance to the room for several minutes, watching the guards nod to others wearing similar uniforms as they crossed into the room.

The idea of knocking someone out and stealing their clothes crossed her mind but she quickly squashed it. She was lucky with the operator, but she had a feeling that leaving him alone was going to come back and bite her in the aft. Alarms would probably be sounded as soon as he figured out how to tell someone of her presence. Time was going to short.

A low, happy warble blasted her ear and Anna looked back in confusion. The sound was too deep for Whitenoise and it didn't hold the same chipper squeak he usually used. All that was behind her was…a Mountain Dew vending machine.

"Dewbot?" she hissed in amazement. The machine shivered in joy and an appendage appeared out of its side, a small, pincer like claw reached out and poked her in the arm before gripping it and pulling her towards him. She teetered backwards off the balls of her feet and was bodily dragged towards the glowing green machine.

"I'm happy to see you too, but cut that out! It hurts."

Dewbot released her when her shoulders touched his front and the claw tangled in a piece of her hair as it inspected her face. She swatted the appendage away, as happy to see a familiar 'face' as she was irritated. Another chittering sound caught her attention and a bot about three feet tall dropped into her lap and shoved its thin mechanical face into hers. It had bug like eyes and looked reminiscent of a bipedal crab with white and light green accented armor.

"Hello. And you are…a friend of Dewbot's, I presume? Wait, I know you from somewhere."

"Rude, dumb little human. I helped save your aft and this is the thanks I get?"

Ah, it clicked then, this was the little white bot that had helped her when the base exploded.

"Sure I do, but the last time we met wasn't under great circumstances. Don't call me dumb you little prick."

"You dare." Its green optics drew closer to Anna's face and she was nearly cross-eyed by the time Dewbot smacked him away with his claw.

Anna breathed through her nose to quell a large sigh of irritation. "What's your name?"

The small bot brushed at his arms as if trying to ward off dirt. "Xbot," it said angrily.

"Xbot," Anna started. "I need yours and Dewbot's help.

The machine behind her rattled in what she took to be excitement while Xbot's optics narrowed.

"Why should we help you?"

"Because I doubt you're down here just to watch the crazy humans. They don't seem to know you're here so you have to have a reason." They were neither constrained nor injured and they were sitting in a relatively hidden spot. She thought it was safe to assume they weren't well known around the base, if at all.

"Why would a human care? Did Barricade send his pet to retrieve us?"

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Yes and no. I came for the Autobots, with Barricade. If you want to get out of here I can help you if you help me."

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Xbot looked at her sideways like a bird eyeing interesting prey.

"Because I need a distraction, and if you don't cooperate, I'll just throw you into the middle of the floor and let the EA crazies tear you apart while I rescue the Autobots."

Xbot hissed. "Fine, annoying creature. We'll help you, but only if you get out of this fleshy infested pit."

Anna cracked a smile. "Good."

A muffled explosion rang through the room and all activity abruptly ceased. People were stopping in their work and looking around for the source of the strange noise until a woman with a radio ran out screaming into it, "Intruders on the upper level! Its alien heavies! Don't just stand there, get moving!"

That was all it took before an alarm started blaring and people began scrambling to arm themselves. More explosions sounded from somewhere far away and Anna had to suppress a laugh as Barricade's unadulterated glee rushed through her.

"Well, that takes care of our distraction," she announced and stood to glance at Xbot then Dewbot. "I could still use your help. I doubt they'll leave the Autobots unguarded. Do you know where they are?"

Dewbot transformed, his bipedal form towering over her and grinning with a row of razor sharp teeth.

"Follow X. He'll take you to them while I distract the annoying humans."

Anna smiled warily, knowing how much strength was packed into his bulky stature. "Try not to make them wet their pants."

Dewbot lumbered off into the chaos and hollered above it, "Knock, knock!"

He held his arm out and rapidly fired cans of Mountain Dew into the crowd. The green projectiles exploded into showers of carbonated beverage and stunned several EA members with confusion before they realized what was attacking them. Bullets began bouncing off of Dewbot's hard shell and he laughed mechanically as he knocked out his assailants with high velocity cans of soda to their skulls and…family jewels.

"Follow."

Anna did as Xbot commanded and found him staring up at the crates.

"Dumb humans never look up. Use high vantage points to avoid detection."

He began to climb and she followed nervously. She was not a good climber, and it showed when the miniature bot had to help her over a rather tall crate. The bugger was stronger than he looked.

Xbot pried open a ventilation shaft and pointed inside. "In here."

"I am _not_ getting inside that," she hissed. If there was one thing she hated, it was being in confined spaces.

The small bot didn't appear the least bit amused. "Get in or the guards get you. No other way into room."

Anna studied the space inside and nearby. "I'll just crawl over it." The ventilation tube was rounded and poorly cut into the concrete, leaving large spaces between its shell and the upper wall. She could simply shimmy her way over instead of crawling through a tight, mothball ridden space. Heights didn't intimidate her near as much as being confined in a loud metal tube did.

Xbot rolled his optics and clambered inside while Anna carefully perched on the vent. She straddled the rounded metal and laid flat on her stomach to avoid falling off. Slowly, she began making her way into the next room while eyeing the chaos below her. Dewbot appeared to be having a swell time throwing a human through the window of a car.

The next room was a lot quieter, cleaner, and brighter. Anna's breath caught in her throat when below, only yards away, she spotted the Autobots. They were lined up nearly bumper to bumper, trapped in their vehicle forms and restrained by large looping chains over their tires and roofs that kept them rooted to the floor. Guards and a couple of scientists in white lab coats paced liked caged animals around the room, no doubt ordered to make sure nothing happened to their prisoners during the break in.

She crawled over the vent until she was directly above Ironhide. She would have gone for Optimus but the vent veered away, and though Ironhide was tall in his own right while vehicular form, it was still going to be a long way down. There was no way to lower herself to lessen the impact so Anna sucked in a shaky breath and slid off the vent. She tried, rather unsuccessfully, to land on her feet, instead bashing her shoulder into Ironhide's roof with a painfully loud _clang_, and rolling off the side with her uncontrolled momentum. Her hands scrambled to try and grab anything to stop her descent, but she tumbled like a rock to the concrete floor underneath with a painful grunt upon impact.

Ribbons of pain flared from her side and she could have sworn something was broken, but it was impossible to tell what. She rolled over and her forehead connected with Ironhide's massive tire. She laid there a moment until the pain receded and felt an angry thrum rise from Ironhide's engine. That definitely hadn't been one of her smarter ideas and she paid for it.

"What was that?" A panicked voice started.

"I don't know, they might just be resisting again with all the commotion. Check their chains."

The shuffle of footsteps was enough to get her moving. Anna picked up the hammer that had fallen out of her jeans. She was relieved it had too, it wouldn't have been good to land on it, she might have been too hurt to finish the job if she had. She tapped the bulge in her pocked where Whitenoise was and felt him shudder, he was alive, and that was good enough for her.

Anna wielded the hammer like a sword, clutching it with both hands, and peered around Ironhide's bed that shook, rattling the chains.

"Stop it, you're going to get me caught." She whispered harshly.

His movement ceased the same moment Sideswipe's engine roared to life. He was in the far back, right in front of Optimus, and the commotion he caused attracted the investigating humans. Anna moved to the base of the chains holding Ironhide and the ones connected to Ratchet's front wheels since he was the next in line. Behind Ratchet, Sunstreaker's engine came to life and he began jerking against the chains and filling the room with the smell of burning rubber.

The chains themselves were as thick around as her arm, they reminded her of the ones attached to the anchors on the air craft carriers and she wondered how the EA got aholt such utilities. She was trying to figure out how she was going to break the heavy and enormous restraints when Xbot dropped down gracefully at her side.

"Allow me, useless human."

He bent over the lock of the chain and his hand transformed into a tool that he used to insert into the heavy locks at the base. Sparks sprang from the keyholes until a satisfying ring released the tension of the chains that wrapped around the frame of Ironhide. They fell off in a giant crash that Anna scrambled to avoid at the same time Ironhide was transforming into his bipedal form with an infuriated roar. He stooped down and snapped the chains over Ratchet with his bare hands before moving on to Sideswipe.

Xbot scrambled to her side as Ratchet transformed and looked around with optics nearly white with furry.

Behind him, Sunstreaker was holding a ball of squirming humans in hands.

"I should kill you right now you Unicron spawned pieces of flesh" Sunstreaker punched in the top of a metal machine nearby and racked out its innards before dumping the humans inside. He took the lid he just made and welded it back over the top with a disgusted snarl.

Optimus had just been freed when the bay doors peeled open and a surge of armed EA member stormed the room, guns already blazing. Ratchet threw a hand over Anna to shield her and placed his foot down for further shelter. The rounds that were fired merely pelted off of his armor until the hiss of a rocket launched and crashed into the far wall. A second shot smashed into Ironhide's shoulder, jerking his arm and eliciting a roar of pain from him. Sideswipe appeared in front of him and raised his weapon, ready to charge when a hail of saber rounds forced him to retreat.

"_Barricade!" _She called in panic.

His answer came calmly and she could picture him smirking. _"Sit tight."_

Not a moment later her 'con came crashing through the sea of bodies, throwing humans aside and crushing those not fast enough to get out of the way of his pedes. He fired on the group wielding rocket launchers and killed them instantly. The Autobots aimed their weapons at him just as Prowl slinked through with a disapproving scowl while he tried not to step anyone as he zeroed in on his comrades inside. They lowered their guns but still eyed the Decepticon distrustfully.

"What are you frag heads gawking at? Move it unless you want to be leveled with this facility and its infestation."

Anna couldn't help but grin, she hated to say it, but she was glad to see his ugly mug.

Barricade eyed her unhappily. Did she think that out loud?

The Autobots looked to Prowl for confirmation. "He's telling the truth. We need to leave."

That was all the incentive they needed before forcing their way through the sea of bodies.

Ratchet scooped Anna into his hand while his other transformed into a buzz saw.

"Hold tight," he warned and cut the fire alarm overhead. Water gushed down from overhead sprinklers, startled the humans below even further. The EA members were an unorganized mess at this point; Barricade had obviously decimated their forces enough to send them into disarray even before they got to this point.

The few tanks that were in the main room rolled to position themselves towards the Autobots. Anna's eyes widened, they were going to fire tanks, indoors? She barely managed to finish that thought when the barrage started. The Autobots danced around the heavy shells and the pelting of bullets from hundreds of humans. Barricade used his own saw to destroy the barrel of a tank just as it was firing, causing the entire vehicle to exploded.

One of the rounds hit Ratchet in leg, jerking it out from under him. He crashed to the ground and lost his grip on Anna who went tumbling into the panicked crowd. Before she could come back to her senses, a heavy boot kicked her in her already wounded side and another cracked into her skull. She was being trampled, unnoticed by the people shouting and moving around her. Someone grabbed her arms and pulled her to her feet. She was about to attack the person with her bare hands, having lost the hammer, but stopped in stunned silence at who it was.

"Anna?" The man breathed in a winded, pained voice. She was suddenly crushed into an embrace by her none other than her dad.

"D-dad? What-you're dead!" She shoved away from him but he refused to let go.

"What are you doing here? Are you insane? Is the shard safe?"

She wanted to backhand him, punch him, strangle him, and feed him to the sharks. "What the hell are _you _doing here?" She demanded darkly.

"Working undercover, it's why I couldn't come home. Jesus, I had no idea if you had made it off the carrier alive."

He tried to hug her again but Anna stuck her arms out. "Why are you with the EA? They're a bunch of crazy frag heads?"

"I don't have time to explain, we have to get out of here."

Just then, Anna was snatched into the air with such speed she felt her stomach drop into her toes. Talons wrapped around her possessively as Barricade fired into the crowd with a feral snarl.

"_Cade grab him and take him with us._

Anna pointed down at her dad and Barricade plucked him out of the swarm without question. In the same instant he shoved Anna into a compartment in his chest before she could protest to the sudden darkness and close confines. The world became muffled except for a small chirp and the vibrating of Whitenoise in her pocket. She maneuvered Whitenoise to in front of her and held him close to her stomach as she was forced to lie in a fetal position. The space she was in rocked uncomfortably and she was glad there was next to nothing in her stomach.

The firefight rumbled through the casing she was trapped in until after what felt like hours, she was unceremoniously shoved out of the holding. She dropped into Barricade's claw and found she was once again outside and in the same clearing as before. The once hidden door was swung wide open and pointed towards the sky. People were standing just inside, still trying to barrage them while being forced to stay where they were.

"Everyone stand back!" Wheeljack tossed a round object down the hole and seconds later a large explosion collapsed the entrance. The few humans that had managed to get out scrambled away from the blast and disappeared into the trees, clearly knowing they stood no chance against the Autobots.

Anna struggled to look around and make sure everyone got out. She counted under her breath all of the Autobots plus Dewbot and Xbot scrambling around their feet. To her surprise she recognized a few tired and dirty human faces taking shelter under the Autobots. Will and Epps stood together with Dr. Johnson and a few other NEST members Anna couldn't remember the names of. She wondered when where they had been held and how the Autobots had even managed to pull them out of the chaos they had just escaped. Even her dad was still hanging limply in Barricades other that hand him none too gently.

"Fragged up, pit spawned, disgusting flesh creatures-" Sunstreaker was pacing the clearing, cursing under his breath while his brother looked on worriedly, hesitating to approach.

Ratchet yanked Wheeljack to the ground and began verbally berating him for his injuries while patching up ruptured lines.

"We can't stay here." Prowl told Optimus while eyeing Wheeljack.

"You are right. We need to move out. Ratchet, how soon can you Wheeljack on his feet?" Optimus sounded tired and she couldn't blame him.

Ratchet finished clamping another energon line shut when he looked up at Prime. "He shouldn't be walking at all, frag it. I need to get him to my med bay but it doesn't exist anymore."

"Optimus!"

The mentioned mech looked down at Lennox.

"If we can find a way to call the secretary of defense we could fly you guys out of here and relocate."

"How do know the human government won't betray us?" Ironhide snarled.

"We don't have any choice but to trust them." The group fell quiet and they all glanced at Optimus, even Sunstreaker was watching him intently with Sideswipes hand resting on his shoulder.

"Optimus, you can't be serious. The humans have been nothing but ungrateful. I say we leave his planet as soon as we can."

Anna hated to admit it but his words stung. She was angry at her own people for deceiving a group that was trying to help their sorry hides and was ashamed of her own actions leading up to this insanity.

Optimus glanced at her while she had been studying him intently, trying to gauge his reaction. The bond she had felt with him was gone and she wanted to confirm that their strange meeting hadn't been some hallucination of her own, and that he wasn't about to abandon human kind to the mercy of the of the Decepticons. Anna was about to turn away from his intimidating gaze and the guilt coursing through her when Barricade interrupted hers and everyone else's thoughts.

"Is there a reason I had to carry this fleshling all the way out here?"

He dangled her dad away from him, acting as if the man would give him a disease, and bared his serrated fangs. Anna glared at her parent who looked between her and Barricade with wary confusion.

"He's my dad," she clipped. "And I have a lot of questions for him."


	36. Chapter 36

**Author's note:** I was honestly surprised with how much of a warm a welcome I received for posting after so long. You guys are great, thank you so much for your encouraging words.

I realize the dad's name is spelled differently in this chapter, but its previous spelling bugged me so I changed it, his name is still the same. I'll be going back and correcting it in previous chapters.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own transformers.

* * *

Anna curled into Barricades passenger seat with a groan of discomfort. Her side burned and she was tired as a dog after all of the excitement earlier with rescuing the Autobots. Not to mention finding her dad again. That wasn't something she wasn't up to dealing with right now, not when tensions were still so high.

"You need medical treatment." Barricade's voice filled the cabin and Anna couldn't help but think she really liked the way it sounded.

"hmm." Was all she could manage in reply while slipping in and out of near sleep, trying not to think too much. His seats were so comfortable it was criminal. A hand stroked her hair, lightly raking its nails through her scalp. She opened her eyes in surprise to Barricade's hologram that held a concerned question in his eyes, unsure about the physical contact he was willingly giving. To answer his question, Anna closed her eyes and leaned into the touch.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence while a soft radio station played in the background. Even though Whitenoise wasn't there to play with the channels, Barricade had taken to leaving it on to fill the quietness of the cabin.

Where his presence used to unnerve her, she now found it comforting in a strange way. The closer she was to him, the stronger the pull of his spark-shard to his main body. When they were in such close proximity, it simply felt right, like a puzzle piece falling into place while the thrum of his spark beat in time with her heart. She reveled in the comfort and was about to fall asleep at last when a voice she distinctly didn't want to hear cackled gruffly over the comm. system.

"Annabelle, will you talk to me now?" He was almost pleading.

She glared at Barricade's digital clock through one slit eye.

"_Make him go away," _She mumbled groggily.

Barricade's feelings were mutual but he didn't have the chance to reply.

Her dad tried again. "Come on my little soldier, just talk to me."

Anna sat up and Barricade retracted his hand while she bit the inside of her mouth to conceal a hiss of pain. Her side was protesting at the slightest of movements.

"Not right now." She said firmly.

"You know I still love you and always will."

Her anger swelled and she wanted to destroy the comm., though she refrained doing so knowing it would only not only hurt Barricade, but her as well via the all _amazing_ Allspark. Instead, she reached over and forcefully pressed the off button for the radio, hoping it would have the desired effect. She thought it had done the trick until a happy chirp filtered through and a chorus from a rock song blasted through the speakers.

"Blasted sparkling. Stop messing with my comm. signal!"

Ratchet's exasperated voice broadcasted through the open channel and a series of chuckles followed, Optimus' rich baritone included.

"He's like a mini Blaster hyped up on high grade twenty four seven," Sideswipe snickered.

"Primus, no. Anyone but him." Ratchet groaned.

Whitenoise chirped and the song _'you've got the touch' _blared through the speakers.

"Whitenoise, I mean it!" Ratchet shouted. As if Whitenoise were a sudden balm, the ever present tension among their party slackened back to normal levels.

The Autobots were still uneasy, no one had spoken about their time in EA's hands and Anna doubted they would be obliged to speak about their experience in Barricade's presence. At first Ironhide wanted nothing more than rip out her 'con's spark, but Optimus, and surprisingly Prowl, had held him back.

The moment Barricade found himself no longer in control of the situation and surrounded by Autobots, he had both Anna and her dad securely in his talons, baring his teeth at the enemy. Feeling cornered and threatened, he had pulled her possessively close to his spark which caused Ironhide and Wheeljack to rev their engines angrily. During the tense situation she had been the only human between the Autobots and Barricade's total destruction

The Autobots knew well enough by now that any harm that came to Barricade would ultimately affect her. Anna didn't doubt Sunstreaker or some other bot wouldn't have any qualms with her death if it took down a Decepticon as well, but to her relief, Optimus was able to keep his soldiers in check.

It was probably a good thing that not all of the Autobots had been taken. During the attack Skids and Mudflap had been on patrol in the states, and Mirage had been running recon to flush out a potential Decepticon in hiding. Jolt, who had been on base, was still MIA and no one seemed to know his fate.

With the few present, the group struck a temporary truce since Barricade had helped them escape and they didn't want the Allspark that rested within both him and Anna to slip from their grasps. Barricade was to accompany the Autobots for the time being but what they or Barricade planned down the road was still up in the air. She was still being held hostage, of sorts. Barricade had relinquished her dad but refused to hand her over, claiming she was his collateral damage. Strangely, she felt no real threat behind his words though the Autobots seemed to take it seriously enough.

The situation meant she was stuck with Barricade for the remainder of the ride to a designated set of coordinates for pick up that Epps had acquired through a phone line. Even though she had been itching to get away from the 'con for a while, she was glad she wouldn't have to ride with anyone else. Ironhide would have usually been her first choice, but he was so irate and sitting on a hair trigger that no one was willing mess with him. Not at least until he had a good recharge, a cube of energon, and her away from Barricade. Ironhide was crystal clear about what parts he would slowly dismember if he found her in any way harmed whenever he could finally snatch her away.

Her first choice to spend time with someone should have been Wheeljack, really, but he was currently riding in the back of Ratchet and knocked out from sedatives. Unfortunately for Ratchet, having the burden of Wheeljack didn't save the medic from the bouncing sparkling in his front seat.

She didn't know how, but Whitenoise had managed to climb to the ground in the midst of a heated argument between Barricade, Optimus, and Ironhide. He managed to wander over to Prowl and began happily chirping while tugging on the SIC's pedes.

Needless to say, his small presence stalled any conversations and turned them into a silent stare down of gawking optics.

"What is that?" Sideswipe had asked, pointing at the white chirping mass on the ground.

"That would be a sparkling." Prowl provided while scooping up the sparklet that was the size of his thumb.

Anna glanced at Barricade who looked on with indifference. She wondered if he would hold some possessiveness over the sparkling after spending time with it, but apparently he was content having Whitenoise with the Autobots, just like said he would.

Whitenoise chirped at Prowl and reached for his facial plates. Prowl studied the bundle of wires before curling his fingers over the small body and walked over to Ratchet where he deposited the sparkling in the CMO's surprised hands.

"Why are you giving him to me?" Ratchet sputtered. "He wants you, not me."

"You are a medic, Ratchet. You have more experience with sparklings than I."

"I beg to differ, Prowl." Optimus interjected. "And I believe Bluestreak would as well."

Ratchet shook his head and held Whitenoise back out to Prowl who uncomfortably took him. "I have my hands full right now. Take him."

"We'll I'll be a monkey's uncle. A sparkling! Where did this little guy come from?"

Wheeljack tried to stand from his half lying position in the grass, but his injuries took him back down with a grunt of pain. Ratchet caught him and gingerly lowered Wheeljack back onto the ground.

"Don't move!" Ratchet barked. "You're lucky you're even functioning with how low your energy reserves are. Not to mention the vast amount of catastrophic damage done to your protoform."

"It's not that bad." Wheeljack tried wave off, and failed when he hissed at Ratchet's welder sparking against a ripped patch of armor. "Watch it doc, that stings."

Anna desperately wanted to go his side, and judging by the longing look Wheeljack threw her, he wanted the same as well. She tried to give him a reassuring smile, one that she saw him return with a flash of his ears and the upturning of his optics.

Whitenoise twittered happily in Prowl's hand as he began playing with the bot's servos to which even Sunstreaker had stopped to gawk at. Prowl looked decidedly un-amused by his sudden new charge.

Anna had been a little sad to see Whitenoise go. He was a lot like a puppy and he had grown on her a bit. He was a sparkling though, not a dog. She didn't even know the first thing about taking care of or teaching a young transformer. She didn't particularly want to take up that job either. In less than a year he would probably be able to beat her A+ in chemistry quantum mechanics.

"How are you feeling Optimus?"

Anna blinked as she looked blearily at Barricade's radio as they hit a dip in the road.

Lennox probably didn't know all of the comms. were currently open, she couldn't imagine him asking such a private question otherwise.

Prime easily obliged. "Very well considering the circumstances. How are you and the other humans faring?"

"Josh and Alex are passed out and the good doctor has a broken wrist."

"My wrist is not broken, it's only sprained." Johnson quipped.

"I thought only little girls walking through forests got sprains." Epps commented slyly.

"I'll remember that the next time you get a bullet in the leg. Just a scratch you say? Well then get out of my clinic!"

Anna couldn't resist the laughter that bubbled out of her until her it started making her side hurt. "Ow, ow, ow," she groaned, sucking in air through her teeth as she slid to lie down across the back seat while holding her ribs. "Don't make me laugh."

Barricade sent a soothing sensation of her that helped to dull the pain and his engine…did it just purr?

"What the frag did you do, slagging 'con?"

Ironhide, who was taking up the rear, revved his engine loudly and increased his speed until his front bumper was inches from Barricade's fenders. His front lights towered over Barricade's roof and beamed harshly through the back window. Anna suddenly wished she was up in his cabin instead of Barricade's. She always felt nervous when riding in smaller cars, though her time with Barricade had helped her become accustomed to it, but there was nothing quite like an irate alien on wheels that was big enough pound the car you were in to scrap.

"I did no such thing. The femme damaged herself trying to get you…Autobots out of that human infested pit."

She could tell it was killing Barricade to not call them by _Autoscum_. The association of the word with the Autobots was so strong that she could hear it echoing around his subconscious.

"Ironhide, back down. Barricade is currently under our protection." Optimus ordered.

It seemed to becoming a mantra of sorts, _Ironhide, back down. _Maybe Prime should just record his command so he didn't have to strain his voice box every time.

Ironhide decreased his speed and fell back a few paces while muttering unintelligently through the comm.

Afterwards, Optimus' voice softened. "You did not notify us you were injured. How severe is the damage?"

Anna tried to sound neutral as her nervousness spiked from being addressed by the Prime. "I don't know, a broken rib maybe?" last thing she wanted was for Optimus to start feeling bad for her, or even worse, responsible, like she did.

"_Stupid femme." _Barricades chastising voice floated into her head, and she had a hunch she wasn't supposed to hear that line.

"Ratchet, is this a problem that needs immediate attention?" Optimus asked sharply.

A burst of Ratchet's exasperation flowed over the comm. "Frag if I know! I'm not a human doctor."

"She's fine." Johnson interrupted. "There's nothing you can do about a broken rib but leave it alone to heal anyway. You're not bleeding anywhere are you?"

"No." She answered tiredly. She had scrapes and bruises earlier, but most of them had mysteriously healed. Her only guess was the Allspark had something to do with her quick recovery. She was wondering where that ability had been when she needed to heal Wheeljack. She didn't know the Allspark was doing it, there was no internal switch. It just sort of, happened. Already she could feel strength pouring into her body from the proximity of Barricade's beating spark. It was an unnaturally warm feeling from her 'con that left her extra drowsy.

"Then you're fine," Johnson snipped.

"Hey now, that's no way to convince someone-" Lennox began but was cut off by Michael.

"Show some respect. That's my daughter you're talking to." His commanding tone forced a grunted apology out of Johnson and the physician shut his mouth from further comment.

Anna immediately wanted to tell her dad she had disowned him and that his comment was invalid, but it sounded childish even in her own head.

She wished Wheeljack was awake, she desperately wanted to talk to him and hear what he thought about finding her dad among one of EA's central base, if it wasn't _the _central base. Prowl had already voiced his concern on the possibility of other cells lurking around the states. They knew so little about this rogue group that it was unsettling.

* * *

A couple hours after the sun had sunken over the horizon their odd convoy crossed over the Texas border. Anna was sad to see her home state rush away under Barricades tires, but she had been there for so brief a time that it almost felt like she hadn't been there at all.

The soldiers riding with Optimus were happily gossiping like little school girls over a football game they had watched before the base was destroyed when Ratchet's dour news broke their debate over which team had the better players.

"Prime, I have to stop. Wheeljack's ruptured another line."

Anna had been lying across Barricades consul while flipping through radio stations with the attention span of a goldfish when Ratchet's announcement speared her with anxiety. She sat up and looked out the tinted windows to the glowing headlights of his H2 form.

"Acknowledged." Was all Optimus said before pulling off to the side of the road, the rest following close behind.

He continued a ways from the highway until it was out of site before the convoy parked and the humans clambered out so the transformers could change.

Her ribs still sent sharp pains up her side as she stepped outside, but they didn't burn anywhere near the way they had a few hours ago.

"_Where are you going?"_

She stopped her slow hobble forwards and looked up at Barricade.

"_I have to talk to them. Don't worry; they won't do anything to me." _She wondered why she felt the need to assure him of her safety.

Barricade glared down at her with his ruby optics and sent a wave of discouragement.

"_Your bond is strong with the Autobot Wheeljack. I won't stop you."_

She gave him an appreciative smile and a small, _"Thanks." _

She could feel his intense optics on her back as she walked forwards with a tentative hand around her side. It hurt, a lot, and she felt embarrassed showing such a weakness around everyone else.

Sideswipe and Ironhide had just finished carefully extracting Wheeljack from Ratchet's interior when she caught up to them. Her surrogate uncle was placed gingerly onto the grass, his form unsettlingly still, and a moment later Michael came jogging up when he should have been detained by Prowl.

"What's his condition?" He asked Ratchet who was still in mid transformation.

Anna glared at him, not liking his proximity to Wheeljack, but she was ignored.

"I already told you. Now scram. I have to patch this leak before he bleeds dry." Ratchet placed his hand where Michael had been standing which forced her dad to move backwards. He didn't, however, push her away. Anna kept a hand on Wheeljack's upturned, open palm and scrutinized a stream of blue energon he was leaking from somewhere in his midsection. She hoped that Ratchet would be able to repair him to the way he was before the accident.

Ratchet's worked on the exposed wires while everyone else stretched their legs. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe moved off into the trees away from the others, Anna watched them go, as did Optimus, but nobody had the heart or confidence to stopped them. Dewbot and Xbot were amusing themselves and the humans while Ironhide sat down on a boulder and began nursing his wounded shoulder that Ratchet had done a quick patch job on, but the armor covering of the joint was still mangled and scorched.

All of the Autobots still possessed wounds from the initial bombing of the NEST base and next to Wheeljack; Optimus looked to be the most damaged. The Prime's optics weren't as bright as they usually were and his armor was dull and scratched. A sizable tear in his leg exposed a silver casing underneath that looked badly burnt. There was no telling what the EA had done to the Autobots either within the small amount of time they held them captive. She couldn't tell the difference between an old wound and a fresh one.

Anna was trapped between wanting to check on Ironhide and to question Optimus about their encounter in Limbo. She began making her way towards Ironhide who looked up at her approach, but she was stopped by a familiar order. "Annabelle, come over here."

He wasn't trying to command her, she could tell from experience, but everything that came out of her dad's mouth sounded like an order. She always assumed the tendency came from his rank but now she was beginning to think otherwise. He probably never even worked for the U.S Military.

She could feel Barricade's optics on her and his voice wrapped around her conscious. _"I would also be angry if…my creator switched sides, but it could beneficial to get him talking to gain information on our common enemy."_

Trust Barricade to encourage her in the guise of a tactical advantage. She waivered, not wanting to know the truth as much as she did want to know. For all she knew her dad was only going to tell her more lies.

She took a deep breath and followed Michael through the dark to a fallen log where he sat and patted the bark next to his leg, willing her to join him. She opted for standing across from him with her arms crossed.

"Sit," he commanded. Most people would follow his words to the T, but unfortunately for him, being his daughter made her immune to his gruff exterior. Her dad's sheer reputation made her a bit surprised that she was never given the label army brat at school. Then again, his reputation meant he was away most of the time, and Wheeljack had always been the most prominent parental figure in her life.

"Talk," she parried, allowing all of her hatred to hiss through that one word.

Heavy footsteps signaled Ironhide's approach. He stopped halfway between her and Wheeljack, torn and uncertain if he should be more concerned about her being around her parent who was a part of the EA, or Wheeljack and Ratchet, one injured and unconscious while the other severely occupied within the vicinity of an alert Decepticon. He stood in limbo, keeping his cyan optics on all parties. Anna felt a bit sorry for him, his guardian protocols must have been giving him fits, adding to his already built up stress.

"Where do I even start," Michael scratched his chin, a nervous habit of his. It was hard to see his face in the dark where the only light source came from the glow of the Autobot's headlights, but she could easily imagine the scar running over his crooked nose scrunching in concentrated while he formed his thoughts.

"The air craft carrier. How did you get out?" She supplied.

"That's easy enough. I made it to a life boat."

She uncrossed her arms and balled her hands into fists. "Liar. I saw everyone who was rescued from the life boats. You. Weren't. There." She was angry at him for making her believe he was dead and for leaving her all alone on a base teaming with alien robots. A heavy silence hung in the air until her dad shifted to lean forwards, his elbows resting on his thighs.

"You're right, I wasn't. Another agency picked me up, the government."

"NEST is the government, and don't tell me the EA is a part of it, because they're not." frustration was held so tightly in her voice that she was close to shouting.

"They're a branch of the government, yes, but I'm referring a group higher up the pecking order. And how would you know if the EA is part of the government or not? That's beside the point; I'm not speaking about them."

"Why would the government attack itself?" She threw her hands forwards, her palms upturned as she shook them. "The EA's not a part of it. And how is it _not_ the point?"

"They don't factor into the equation yet."

She opened her mouth but he beat her to it.

"Let me to finish my story first. Look, I've never told anyone this, not even your mother." Though it was dark, she could see him shift his gaze onto the Autobots. Optimus, Prowl, and the other humans were respectfully minding their own business while Ratchet was appearing to be otherwise occupied. It was obvious she and her dad held Ironhide and Barricade's full attention, neither of them looked abashed at being caught eavesdropping.

"I worked for sector seven." The soft conversations in the background and the sparking of Ratchets welder died under until only the chirping of crickets and katydids could be heard. Why did that name sound familiar?

"Worked, you mean you don't anymore?" she inquired.

"No. They were disbanded two years ago. Since then I've been working independently under the government."

"What did they do and how does your new job equal joining the EA? How long have you been with them?"

He gave her that look again, the one he gave when she was misbehaving.

"Sector seven worked with what you would call area 51."

"Aliens?" she sputtered.

"Yes, aliens. Or more precisely, their technology." He nodded towards the transformers that were still trying their best and failing at appearing disinterested. Barricade radiated intrigue at the new tidbit of information.

"After Sector Seven fell apart I was instructed to investigate a potentially dangerous group that had started out as an online blog run by teenagers. They shared and cataloged conspiracy theories on aliens and the government. They believed there were aliens among us and were convinced they were here to enslave us all. What worried the higher ups was most of their information posted on their website was true, including detailed descriptions of the Autobots and Decepticons.

"Over the last year I've been getting acquainted with the EA and infiltrating their ranks. I had no idea they were so wide spread, or so well armed. They were supposed to be a grown fandom of sorts, a cult, not an armed militia. I regret that had you had to become involved. None of this was supposed to happen."

He looked up at her, his brown eyes gleaming in the dark.

"Well, it did." Anna felt the sting of tears prick her eyes, partly out of relief and partly out of frustration. She still wasn't sure if she could trust his words. She didn't want to be around him while mentally breaking down, she always hated being weak in front of him. She turned her back on her him and retreated to Wheeljack's side where she climbed into his palm and hugged her knees to her chest. Ratchet continued to work without disturbing her.

Michael slid a hand down his face and rose from his perch. He started to approach her, not finished talking with her when a massive hand blocked his path.

"I don't normally interfere in family matters, but I believe it would be best to leave her alone for now."

Optimus' blue optics shone down on Michael in an expression he couldn't decipher due to the battle mask. Michael looked back at the glaring black mech that was watching him intensely and the monster with glowing red optics that possessed a murderous glint. He wanted to know why a Decepticon was there in the first place.

Deciding not the start something, Michael rolled his shoulders as if they were stiff. "Maybe you're right."

"Allow me to escort you back to Prowl's care." Optimus' guiding hand pushed Michael gently forwards and the Prime shot Anna's huddled form a sympathetic look. She missed the gesture as her eyes were casted downwards and her finger was tracing the metal of Wheeljack's palm.

She wasn't used to his robotic form and she wanted to get to know it as well as she knew his holographic one. In his human form he had a scar across mouth that she used to look at with curiosity as a child, now it was simply one of his defining features. Every time he spoke it would stretch in strange ways that used to fascinate her because no one else had a scar there. She wondered if his robot form had it as well. His mouth was always hidden by a mask now and she didn't like. She was used to her uncle being expressive and animated, especially when he started explaining anything that had to do with building electronics or explosive chemistry.

Optimus returned minutes later and bent down to Anna's level. His blue optics bathed her in a soft glow of light that made her look up and she nearly jumped in surprise at his close proximity.

"May I have a moment of your time?" His voice rumbled in a soothing tone.

Anna looked up at Ratchet, silently asking if Wheeljack would be alright. The CMO nodded to her as if to say he had everything under control.

"Ok," she answered softly.

Optimus held his hand out for her and she climbed in gingerly, seating herself on his palm. Her arms wrapped around his thumb and she pressed against the warm metal to brace for when he stood up to his full height. He stood slowly and smoothly, a relief for her equilibrium and her side.

Barricade's spark swelled hotly at seeing Anna in Prime's hands and he stepped forward, catching the undivided attention of the entire camp.

"Barricade?" Optimus questioned.

"I need a word with you as well," He rumbled. His sharp features and four glowing red optics stood out menacingly in the darkness.

"Indeed," Optimus mumbled. "Very well, follow me."

Ironhide rolled out his weapons and the charge of his cannons lit up the ground as a chorus of, "You can't be serious," rang from Autobots and human alike.

"I can handle Barricade if he tries anything. I will not go very far." Optimus made sure Barricade was aware of his passive threat by glancing in her con's direction. To Barricade's credit he didn't even flinch.

Optimus walked into the woods away from the main group to give them a semblance privacy so long as they kept their voices down. He raised his hand that held Anna up to his optics and she shrank behind his thumb.

"Do not be afraid. You are safe. I will not allow any harm to befall you."

The Allspark within her didn't repel from Optimus the way it had before. It was quiet in his presence and she felt safe. She nodded minutely, believing his words and tried to sit up straight so she didn't look like a terrified dog with its tail between its legs. She paid for the movement that sent a lace of pain up her side. She grimaced and Optimus eyes softened in concern.

"You are in pain still?"

"I'm fine, it'll go away." She reassured him. Barricade was also throwing a question her way, a mental push that nudged her for attention.

"_I'm fine,"_ she repeated for his sake.

He didn't' seem to believe her when not a click later he demanded, "Give her to me."

Optimus studied Barricade who stood at a respectable distance. His arms were hanging limply at his side and his posture was as nonthreatening as he could manage.

Optimus then looked down at Anna. "Only if she wishes it."

She could feel Barricade tugging at her- spark she supposed she could call it, though it wasn't really hers, and he wanted her out of Optimus' hands and in his. He didn't like that someone else was holding her. Oddly, she wanted to be closer to him as well.

"I do," she said firmly.

Optimus gave Barricade another warning look and held Anna out to him. Barricade cupped his hands and Optimus gently deposited her into them. Barricade situated her into one of his palms and drew her close to his chest so that she could rest against the metal there. She had to admit it was a much more comfortable position.

Anna focused back on Optimus. "Did I really talk to you in a dream…or am I going crazy?"

"Dream?" Barricade asked sharply. "Does this have to do with your communication exchange while stasis?"

Anna nodded and Optimus confirmed it for the both of them. "It was not the first time your spark called out to me."

Barricade didn't look happy by this bit of news. "Explain."

Anna spoke before Optimus could answer.

Her face skewed in confusion. "I don't have a spark. I have a piece of Barricade's, sure, but it's not mine. And I remember the last time, but it was more like a memory than a dream."

Optimus answered all of her questions in order. "Your signature is unique, separate from Barricade's. I could not have mistaken it. You are correct in your observation, however, that our most recent meeting was different from the first."

He looked up at Barricade then. "During out first encounter she was trapped in a memory of the final battle for the Allspark here on Earth, the one leading up to Megatron's demise."

She felt Barricade tense at the name and remembered Soundwave had claimed Megatron was alive. She kept quiet on that bit of information, wanting to withhold it until later. Right now, learning about Limbo and the evil entity within was more important.

Optimus continued. "Her distress carried through the Allspark, which was inducing the dream, and its power disturbed the Matrix of Leadership, which I hold. I was also in recharge at the time and was confused by the distressed entity searching for help through the Matrix."

"Why would the Allspark be able to contact that old relic of yours?" Barricade inquired suspiciously.

"They were forged by same power many eons ago so their power source is similar."

"The Primes?" Barricade wasn't convinced.

"Yes, the Primes created the Allspark. I, however, was not among them during these two artifacts creation. It was long before my time."

Anna tried to wrap her brain around a young Optimus existing after the so called ancient Primes and almost felt her mind glitch. She couldn't do it, the image of a midget Optimus with big eyes and a bouncy antenna on top was all she could come up with. The mental image she broadcasted made Barricade snort and amusement flooded their bond.

Optimus eyed them questionably but didn't comment. Instead, he directed a question at Anna. "Please, retell your account of the latest dream experience so that I might make sense of my suspicious."

Anna breathed in a shaky sigh. "I don't know. All I remember is waking up to some…" she hesitated at the cliché thoughts forming in her mind, tallying how ludicrous it all sounded. "Really creepy feeling and a materializing face of a transformer I don't know." She struggled to remember the words he had spoken and even what he looked like. "He was saying something along the lines of 'I found you', mentioned something about the Allspark, and then he started…I don't know, reaching out to me, or chasing me. I couldn't see him but I felt him."

She made a frustrated noise. "I don't know how to describe it but I was running away from this sense of evil energy, it was like the boogieman in a dark void until I stumbled into you. I think it was you, you were more like this weird ball of blue energy."

She began worrying the inside of her mouth with her teeth. "You probably think I'm crazy. Sorry, it sounds stupid."

"You're not…crazy," Optimus tested the strange earth word on his glossia. "Remember when I told you about the Fallen?"

The name stirred her memory and everything suddenly clicked. "He was chasing me again? Through the Allspark?"

Optimus nodded. "It appears the Allspark and the Matrix of Leadership is more intertwined than I had previously thought. With the Matrix' power I could sense the Fallen, and you, and was able to drive him away."

"The Fallen?" Barricade quipped. "He's been extinguished for eons. Are you telling me he somehow survived?"

Optimus looked troubled. "I can't know if his spark yet lives in the physical realm, but somehow he is able to tap into the power of the Allspark and manifest himself to the carrier."

Barricade curled his talons closer around her. "I possess the Allspark too, and I haven't seen this phantom Prime."

"I can't answer that either. All I can say is we need to be on our guard."

Barricade scoffed. "There is no we, Prime."

Optimus nodded, not willing to push the issue. "We will speak further into this issue later, for now, we need to keep moving, Ratchet is done with repairs. Dismissed."

Optimus turned his back to them and made his way back to the group.

Anna looked up at Barricade who was watching Optimus' retreating form with mistrust.

Anna rubbed the surface of Barricade's armor to grab his attention and he sucked in a sharp intake of air and looked down at her curiously. "I don't like this mystic mumbo-jumbo scrap either, but I don't know what else to call it. How often do people have the same dream at the same time, twice?"

Barricade's optics shuddered. "About as often as a Decepticon becomes attached to a human."

She blinked at that. "You, what? Come again?"

He growled in frustration. "You fleshlings are annoying parasites at best, but of all the ones to be stuck with, you're not so bad."

She gapped then smiled awkwardly. "Um, thanks. You're not so bad your self, for a Decepticon."

"Don't, I'll never hear the end of it if a human starts calling me soft. And it could get us both killed."

She frowned at this. "Are the Decepticons really so intolerant?"

He glared over at a tree. "To weakness, yes."

"And I'm a weakness?" She asked humorlessly.

"Your death could literally result the extinguishing of my spark, so yes, you're a weakness I can't afford to expose."

"Oh, right. I'm your spark's battery. I forgot," she snarked, earning a dangerous look from Barricade.

"Where the frag is that 'Con? Barricade! If I don't see you in ten micro cycles I'm coming to hunt you down and drag you back in pieces if I have to!"

The whirr of twin cannons powering up in the distance made Anna cringe. "I think we should go before Ironhide blows a gasket."

Barricade flexed his free claw as if testing its ability to destroy weapon specialists. "Agreed."

* * *

Anna hadn't known she'd managed to fall asleep when a loud explosion ripped her from sleep. Barricade's tires squealed to a stop with the rest of the caravan and Anna sat up in confusion. She couldn't see any fire or smoke and she could see the other humans looking around in the broad daylight for the source as well.

"We've got bogies inbound!" Epps hollered over the radio. "Coming in hot from the south!"

A second later another crack exploded the air and this time Anna saw the massive black and purple jet that literally popped into existence over their heads. It gunned its thrusters and pelted the Autobots below as rocketed by. Two more aircrafts soared overhead at a low altitude and she had the distinct feeling they weren't friendly.

"Autobots, battle positions." Optimus' command was headed as his soldiers began transforming.

Before Anna could get out of Barricade's, one of the jets that looked strikingly familiar flew dangerously low over the road and transformed midflight into a tank. Its new form dropped like a rock and dredged a massive trench into the concrete under its treads as it ground to a halt. The second it stopped, it aimed its cannon into the clustered group and Barricade slammed his door shut, forcing her back inside, and gunned his engine backwards just in time to avoid the shell shot that shot by only inches from his hood. The force of the bullet's concussion rocked his frame and nearly sent Sideswipe to his knees. The trees that got in its way were either flattened or incinerated. In the next instant Autobots and human alike were scrambling to dodge a freezing laser that turned everything it touched to ice.

From above, a cobalt F-22 transformed and bore down on Sunstreaker with a war cry and a large sword it used to shove through Sunstreaker's shoulder, pinning the front liner to the ground and stunning him.

"Thundercracker!" Sideswipe's battle cry alerted the seeker and gave him microseconds to dodge the deadly fist coming his way.

Thundercracker dodged and reached out to grasp Sideswipe's arm as the Autobot's momentum carried him forwards. The seeker attempted to throw the Lamborghini, but Sideswipe predicted the move and gripped Thundercracker's arm instead and aimed his blaster in his other hand at the opening he had just created. Before he could fire, Thundercracker kicked the gun out of Sideswipes hand and used his free fist to punch the twin aside just in time to thrust his arm under Sunstreaker's to deflect his sword that the twin was trying to use.

Anna had thought the lambo twins and Optimus were tall, but this guy took the cake. He towered over the twins by at least five feet, and yet he was still able to out maneuver them at close quarters. Thundercracker warded off another joint assault by Sideswipe and Sunstreaker and managed to forcefully regain his weapon which he used to slice a sizable gash in Sideswipe's chassis.

Anna was about to try and get out again when a pressure filled her ears and a loud pop that sounded like a gunshot rang overhead. In nearly the same instant Barricades vehicular form was being jerked off his tires.

"Skywarp, you fragger! What is the meaning of this?!" he bellowed in cybertronian.

An amused voice glided over Barricades speakers. "You were moving too slow so Soundwave sent us to pick you up. Who knew you had been captured by Autobots. You're losing your touch Cagey."

"Don't call me that!" Barricade snarled and gunned his engine. His tires spun uselessly in the air as the black and purple jet laughed mechanically.

"And what's this, are the humans keeping you as a pet now? I can't believe you're letting one sit inside you. Yuck."

"Let me go you fragging pit spawned piece of slag!"

"Really Cade?" Anna asked with a restrained eye roll.

He snarled in kind. "You deal with this idiot for a vorn and then tell me if you don't want to rip his rotaries out his tail pipe."

"How rude." Skywarp chided. "I'm only doing you a favor by pulling your sorry aft out of trouble, again."

Barricade revved his engine in an attempt to get away that was about as successful as a three year old flailing its limbs in midair.

His fit of rage seemed to at least draw some positive attention, semi positive attention. Ironhide was after Skywarp now, his cannons primed and firing off at the jet already four stories in the air. Anna noted it would hurt, a lot if they were to suddenly drop.

"Time to go." Skywarp whooped as a pressure began building around her ears again.

Space itself seemed to contort then she felt as if every molecule in her body was trying to disperse in every which direction. The world went dark and void of sound, light, touch, and smell for the fraction of a second and Anna could have sworn her insides were about to become her outsides. In the next second all of her senses came rushing back and she immediately wanted to hurl. Barricade obliged by unrolling a window and she chucked stomach bile onto an intersection at least ten stories below. That neighborhood hadn't been there a second ago…

"What, just happened." She panted while hanging out of Barricades window like a winded dog. He was in a similar state. She could feel Barricades own tanks churning and the mental clenching of his denta plates as he rode out the nausea. Who knew, robots could get sick too.

"That was fun!" Skywarp chirped almost as happily as Whitenoise did when he found a song he liked. Skywarp began flying forwards and Anna was forced to pull her head back inside when the wind tore at her eyes. Barricade's seat belt slid over her under his own power which spoke volumes about his trust in the seeker that held them hostage.

"Did you see the look on Ironhide's face? He was so pissed when he couldn't hit me."

"I wonder why." Barricade grumped as he sung under the cruising jet like a pendulum.

"Maybe because he's my unofficial guardian, or was. I don't know anymore." Anna frowned. She really didn't know where she stood with the mech anymore. He had been so standoffish and furious the last twenty four hours. She wondered if he was angry or distrustful of her. The thought that he might not want to be around her anymore stung as much as his accusations towards her kind. It was true humans had deceived the Autobots, but she wasn't a part of that group that had betrayed them. She had only failed to warn him about the group. If only she had discovered the EA sooner to tell the Autobots then maybe none of this would have ever happened.

"A Guardian, for a human? And Ironhide?" Skywarp crackled in a hysterical fit of laughter and Anna failed to see the humor.

"Wasn't he Prime's body guard? The Autobots _have_ gone bat crazy. No wonder they can't find the front end of a blaster. I need to tell this to TC, he'll blow a gasket."

Skywarp began descending and Anna leaned forwards to see they were heading for an abandoned warehouse. Barricade was released so suddenly she screamed in tandem with him as they crashed to the ground in front of the building.

"Skywarp! You slag for brains!" Barricade snarled. The impact had rattled his frame and Anna could feel his pain lace up through her skull.

She sucked in a breath and looked around the abandoned construction area, wondering how they had suddenly and literally just dropped into a populated city.

Skywarp transformed and landed heavily next to Barricade's vehicular form. The seeker's height was just as impressive as the last one she saw, especially with the massive sweeping wings it possessed. He was currently smiling down at them with ruby red optics, looking particularly pleased with himself.

"Old Megsie wants a word with you. I wouldn't keep him waiting if I were you."

"Of course not," Barricade mumbled. "Get out," he barked at Anna.

She obliged and stood far enough away for him to transform. Barricade wasn't a particularly tall mech, he was a few inches shorter than Ironhide, and the seeker simply dwarfed him. Barricade's helm only came up just past the seeker's midsection.

Barricade looked down at Anna who watched him curiously. So Skywarp was one of his comrades, a Decepticon. She had to admit the seeker looked pretty cool, though odd with his triangular body shape. She also wanted to know what that stomach churning trick of his was.

Barricade turned back to Skywarp. "I have…something that I need taken care of."

Skywarp cocked his head like an interested bird as Barricade stooped down to pick her up.

"I need you to watch this scraplet while I speak with Lord Megatron."

Skywarp looked at her with a spark of interest. "So it _is_ your pet?"

She could feel Barricade internally cringe. "Yes, she is my pet and isn't something I want to flaunt in front of our leader."

"Oh, neat! Let me see it. I'll take care of her for you!"

Barricade moved her away from the seeker's eager claws.

"Humans are fragile so do. Not. Drop. Her. Or not even Primus can save you from my wrath."

"Cross my spark," Skywarp stated, making a cross over his spark chamber. "and hope to offline."

Barricade looked questionably at his actions, not sure what to think of the strange promise. Though, he seemed satisfied enough to hold her out to the seeker. She was dropped in the new Decepticon's talons and brought up to his ruby optics.

They held an odd softness mixed with mischievousness as he gazed at her as if she were a new puppy. She wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing.

"Funny looking, isn't she? It's weird how much they look like cybertronian femmes."

He stuck a claw out and stroked her spine with more force than necessary. Surprisingly, the way she was forced to bend forwards didn't aggravate her side. It was a little sore but otherwise perfectly healed.

"Just be careful with her. I don't want my _pet_ damaged." Barricade warned, throwing a glare at Skywarp as he disappeared into the warehouse.

Anna internally withered, just when she thought she was making some headway with Barricade, she had been almost immediately demoted to pet status and left with a giant seeker who was looking at her like a new toy. Her day just continued to get better and better.

* * *

**Author's note:** Can I just say here how much I love TC and Warp? They're probably my favorite duo in all of Transformers.


	37. Chapter 37

**Author's note: **My Muse enjoys rainy, nasty days.

* * *

"What a pleasant surprise, Lord Megatron."

Barricade stepped onto the operation floor of a decrepit warehouse that had once been a steel factory. The sun's afternoon rays beat through the torn rafters and glared off his black and white armor, the words _punish and enslave_ displayed mockingly on his door wing in elegant cursive. He had to wonder why the Decepticons were living in such squalor when they could easily build a base, but he had been out of the loop for over two solar cycles. Such happenings as the sudden and full functionality of the formally deceased Decepticon warlord left a wide range of possibilities open.

Barricade hadn't witnessed Megatron's destruction; he had been too injured to join the fight so his only confirmation of his leader's demise was through intermittent comm. chatter. Yet, after being declared offlined, there his lord perched, sitting upon a pile of scrap as if it were a throne crafted from the disemboweled parts of Autobots; his ruby optics cataloging every inch of Barricade's frame while Soundwave stood silent vigil at his side.

Barricade hadn't forgotten about Frenzy, one of Soundwave's cassettes that had been entrusted to him for the specific task of locating LadiesMan217. The hyper active slagger who was adapt at hacking had gone and offlined himself while in Barricade's care. It was nothing personal, 'Cons died all the time in their line of work, but he had to wonder if Soundwave held a grudge against him. Hosts could be protective of their symbiotes.

Laserbeak, one of Soundwave's hawk like cassettes, cawed from the rafters, and Megatron smiled. "Barricade, It's so nice to see that you have finally joined us."

Barricade never removed his optics from Megatron as he bowed under the forewarning rolling from his leader's articulators, displaying that he knew his place.

"Indeed, Lord Megatron. It is good to be back."

"And yet," his leader rasped, raising one of his serrated claws to inspect in faux disinterest. "Soundwave tells me you have been spending time with the Autobots." He then looked at Barricade, the pits of his optics casting downwards without fully turning his head. "Explain yourself; I will only give you one chance."

Barricade formatted his words carefully. He couldn't tell Megatron the whole truth; he would be dismantled if his part in rescuing the enemy was revealed, not matter the reason. Even worse consequences would befall him if his lord discovered the physical bond that had formed between Anna and him. It wasn't so much the forbidden bonding, to an alien no less, that made him pause; but if Megatron ever found out Barricade and Anna harbored the Allspark's powers, their lives would be in jeopardy in an entirely different fate than the usual punishment of being torn asunder. They would become science experiments, and Decepticon scientists usually doubled as torturer specialists. It was treasonous to withhold such information, but it was better than becoming a broken, energon coated lab rat.

It wasn't his first time lying to Megatron's face platings; he had stuck his neck out more than once for Skywarp and his brother. He always found himself in debt to the seekers in one way or another, and clearing that debt usually called for him to cover for one of their many antics, particularly Skywarp's.

He would have to play his lie carefully, there was no way of knowing how knowledgeable Soundwave was to his recent activities, and the communication specialist was likely holding a grudge over Frenzy.

With a neutral expression, Barricade began slowly, "I had been lying low after your initial demise when the Autobots saw fit to rat me out of hiding."

He watched Megatron to see if he reacted or interjected the claim of his own 'demise'. The warlord didn't even arch a brow.

"I was captured and thrown in their brig until infighting amongst their human allies allowed for my brief escape. One of those human groups often resorts to reckless measures to destroy 'Bots or 'Cons. They designate themselves as the Earth Alliance."

Megatron was already beginning to look bored, which meant a volatile exasperation would soon follow.

"Yes. Soundwave has been keeping tabs on this pathetic human group. They are disorganized insects playing with things they cannot understand. So long as they continue pestering the Autobots and stay out of my way I care not for their activities."

Barricade was becoming more suspicious as to what Megatron might know; it would be in his lord's character to lead him on in a charade of ignorance just to watch him squirm before laying out all of his lies for everyone to see.

Barricade continued, "Shortly after I was captured again, and was waiting for an opportunity to strike back, the seekers found and brought me here."

Megatron's optics narrowed, displeasure marring his already severe features. "You were captured not once, but twice?" The anger in his voice rose and fell like a wave. Afterwards, he sank in his seat, becoming contemplative.

Finally, in an even tone, the warlord added, "You are lucky Soundwave took pity on you. I would not have extended the same kindness. Do not expect it to happen again."

Barricade stooped lower to the ground. "It won't," he promised darkly while his spark shimmered in relief.

"Good. Now get out of my site, you wear on my patience."

Knowing he was already walking on thin ice, Barricade made a hasty, but dignified retreat even though there were a multitude of inquiries filed in his processor. He had gotten off unexpectedly easy. He had been almost certain Soundwave would embellish on his tale and rat him out. Something more important than his possible two-timing must have been brewing. Megatron only allowed fallacies to fall to the wayside when he was preoccupied with an end goal that was nearly in his grasp, so long as that fallacy did not get in his way. It made Barricade suspicious, but of what, he wasn't sure.

* * *

Barricade meandered the manufacturing facility, not aiming for any particular area. It was odd being among his own kind after so long in solitude, and he felt a restlessness in him that couldn't be placed. A pile of collapsed beams stood in his path so he stomped onto to the mess, a dissatisfied frown forming on his face plates as the metal tore like tissue paper under his pedes.

It bothered him that Starscream was nowhere to be seen, that the Decepticons were slinking about the shadows of this dirt ball planet, that he hadn't been reprimanded, that the humans were beginning to show their violet and resourceful natures that struck a little too close to home, and that he was trapped with a frail human girl.

His optics narrowed at the split he had torn in the beams under his pedes. His human was the most frustrating element. He'd never been tied down by anything; it was one of his strengths to never hold anything of value that couldn't be stored in his CPU. The human femme was weak and naïve, like a sparkling, yet strong of will and somehow an intrigue after eons of war. He was no scientist, but he knew the human life span was short, that was another problem she presented. Did the Allspark extend her life force to match his, or would he be subjected to possible deactivation when her short existence came to an end? It was an unfit way to die, to waste away by the snapped threads once connected to something so frail and small.

"We'll look whose back."

Barricade snarled, his battle computer triggered, warming his systems, and he nearly drew his buzz saw. He was further annoyed, and pleasantly surprised when he saw who the snarky speaker was.

"What the frag do you want, Blackout?"

The towering grey mech glared down at Barricade; then even with the absence of a mouth, turned his optics into the illusion of a tight smirk.

"It's funny how supposedly dead mechs keep coming back from the well of Allsparks."

He had been thought dead? That was news to him.

Barricade threw back his head and barked with mirth. "Indeed. Our sparks seem to be so corrupted that even the pit spits us back out into this hellish existence just so it doesn't have to deal with us."

Blackout chuckled. "I'm just glad Megatron is back in command. If that slagger Starscream thought he was going to be in permanent command I would have slagged him myself. That twitchy bit-brain doesn't care about why we're fighting in the first place, he just wants someone to boss around and worship his afterburners."

Though Barricade wasn't overly fond of Starscream, he had proven a formidable commander, albeit a flighty one. A tip in the balance of power might have been a good thing to simply change the game up a bit, but at the end of the day it didn't matter to him who was in charge so long as they proved competent. With Megatron back, it was clear as to who was currently holding the reins.

"Yes," Barricade smirked. "It is good Megatron is the one in command again."

Blackout peered down at his former partner and shifted his pedes. "How about a cube of energon? I could use one right about now."

As if it were a challenge Barricade's mouth plates curled upwards. "I accept."

* * *

"Skywarp, you do realize you have an organic near my tools."

"Yeah. So?"

"They smell and spew fluids everywhere and make a general mess of everything. So, unless you want its biology integrated into your systems the next time I have to apply repairs, you might want to remove it." The voice lowered to mumble under its breath. "And before I electrocute it."

Skywarp huffed air through his massive vents and bent down to pick Anna up off the large table that was the focal point of the room. She swatted at his hand before he could.

"I'm not about to spew anything." She said pointedly to the other mech in the room before turning on the seeker. "Skywarp, no. The last thing I need is you flinging me around like a rag doll again."

He blinked down at her in surprise and the new Decepticon, Knock Out, ogled her like it was the first time he had ever seen a human specimen. Knock Out was a rather short mech in comparison to the seeker, with a bright red paint job trimmed with gold. Wheels with rather fancy looking rims sat atop his shoulders and his face had a smooth, slicked back quality to it. She couldn't help but wonder what he transformed into, probably a sports car.

"I will not fling you around like a rag doll. What do I look like? A sparkling?" Skywarp placed his hands on his hips and Anna couldn't help but smack her hand across her face and grit her teeth.

She thought the Decepticons were supposed to be scary lunatics. Skywarp was just like what he pictured himself as, a four year old. The mech she had been deposited near seemed to feel the same way, if the grimace on his face plates was anything to go by.

"Did-did it just understand Cybertronian?" Knock Out sputtered.

Anna looked up at the transformer with an impeccable red paintjob that glistened in its finely waxed state.

"I did." She told him flatly.

Knock clicked the claws of one hand together in confusion.

"Ah, where did Barricade say he found her again?" He asked to Skywarp who merely shrugged in response.

The Decepticon medic bent over to her, his curious ruby optics so close that they glowed off her skin. She crossed her arms in annoyance.

"Didn't say. All I know is she's his new pet, and I'm keeping her occupied while he deals with Megs." Skywarp looked thoughtfully at the door then down at Anna.

"I wonder what's taking him so long."

Knock Out sliced an uninterested hand in the air, nearly taking Anna's head with it as he turned back to whatever it was he had been working on before she and Skywarp interrupted him.

"Just keep the human out of my way," he said dismissively. "I don't need it going and putting fingerprints all over my glass or mucking around my space."

The temporary medical room was a bit cleaner and more methodically organized than what she had seen of the rest of the 'base'; nothing would change the fact it was still just a dusty, rusting old warehouse. She found his statement of her ability to make the space dirtier invalid, unless of course they squished her innards on the floor.

Skywarp opened his mouth to say something then shut it abruptly when a third body entered the room. The new comer dragged himself through the door with an upper leg that was torn and sparking with leaking fluids and loose wires under the gaping wound.

"TC! What the slag took you so long." Skywarp chided angrily and moved to help the cobalt seeker onto the berth Anna was currently occupying.

Thundercracker grunted in pain as he was lowered onto the table.

"What did they do to you? That looks like it hurts." Skywarp bent down to look at the injury and Knock Out tried to shove him out of the way. Unfortunately for the lithe mech, the seeker was impossible to bodily remove.

"Move it bird brain or there won't be a leg left to save."

Skywarp finally complied by backing up.

Knock Out began clamping leaking wires as Thundercracker looked up at Skywarp who could have been his twin for all Anna knew. Both of them looked near identical save for the color and height.

Thundercracker was slightly taller and sported a cobalt paint job striped with red that sparkled when the light hit his armor. Skywarp had onyx paint that was accented by purple in the same pattern as Thundercracker.

"It was those front liners. Sunstreaker nailed me with his blaster then thought it prudent to start tearing out my leg component with his bare hands." Thundercracker relayed in a cranky manor.

"You did some damage of your own, I hope?" Knock Out asked while still buried in his work.

"Of course he did. I saw TC stab the very same slagger right through the shoulder. There's no way he got out of that fight without a limp."

A thought struck Anna; Thundercracker had been present for the entire skirmish.

"What happened to the others?" She asked in English. She didn't know how speak cybertronian and she doubted her vocals would have been able to produce the electronic sounds the language required.

Thundercracker lifted his arm to get a look at her, seemingly unsurprised by her presence, then looked up at Skywarp.

"Warp, what did I say about leaving things where you found them?"

The purple seeker threw up his hands. "She's not mine. I'm just watching her for Barricade, promise. She's his pet, see, and I was told to make sure she didn't get squished."

Thundercracker raised an optic ridge. "Since when did Barricade start caring about anything other than his old ship?"

Skywarp shrugged his massive shoulders, the movement tugging his wings upwards. "Don't know, but he had her when I picked him up. She's pretty smart for a squishy too, she can understand cybertronian."

Thundercracker looked down at Anna again who was successfully looking bored. She wasn't really, all of the new 'Cons made her head spin as she scrambled to mentally catalogue their names and faces. Supposedly all Decepticons had shorter tempers and a strong sadistic streak, according to Sideswipe. She was trying to figure out who she would be moderately safe around, and who shouldn't be touched with a ten foot pole, not even with her eyes. One wrong look and she could be slag where she stood, there was no Allspark connection preventing these cons from squishing her out of spite.

"Can you tell me what happened during the fight? Who all was injured?" she pushed.

Thundercracker scowled. "Why should I tell you anything?"

"Because I asked," She said flatly, wondering if she could be blunter. She had nothing to bargain with and was running on her pathetic will alone.

Skywarp snickered and Thundercracker backhanded his wingmate without needing to get up. Skywarp stumbled backwards with a yelp and scraped against Knock Out who shoved the off balanced seeker away.

"Hey! Watch the paint job," The medic snapped as Skywarp careened into a pile of old scrap from the warehouse that splintered and flattened under his weight.

"Ow, was that really necessary, TC?" he asked in a voice that reminded Anna of a kicked puppy. Dear Primus, this guy was pathetic.

Thundercracker scoffed. "Don't be such a sparkling."

"Yes, both of you, knock it off before I have to use my annoying seeker repellant." Knock Out's optics narrowed and held his hand that was transformed into a sparking welder close enough to his face that it glowed off his white facial plating.

Anna tapped one of the hands that supported Thundercracker's leaned back, top heavy weight against the table.

"Stop bothering me." He flicked his hand back at her and she dodged away from unfurling claws.

Undeterred, she approached again. "Someone important to me was there. I need to know."

He gave her an appraising look this time. "None of the Autobots or humans were terminated, if that is what you're inquiring."

A sigh of relief escaped her and a constriction in her chest uncoiled by a large margin. "Yeah, thanks."

"Don't tell me you're an Autobot sympathizer." Skywarp leaned around Thundercracker and gave her a scrutinizing glare.

Anna bit down on her tongue as the question rolled about in her head. She wasn't sure she had the answer. Sure, she cared about one of them, but then again she had always cared about Wheeljack, he had been family to her long before being labeled an Autobot.

She had come to consider Sideswipe a friend, he had his spark in the right place, most of the time. Ironhide, she wasn't sure what he was to her anymore. She used to consider him a grumpy parental figure, but just recently he had voiced his utter contempt for her species. Optimus was an alright 'bot, though a bit uptight and authoritative for her tastes. As a whole the Autobots had been accepting to her presence, but she had been their prisoner more than anything else.

She frowned. "No, they don't have my sympathy."

Skywarp didn't appear to notice the battle wagging in her vacant, searching eyes.

His optics brightened and a smile curved over his face plates. "Great! Oh, I should probably show you around the base. Want a tour?"

"Yes, take her, just get out. Your very presence is chafing my armor." Knock Out transformed his welder back into a hand and stood with a hand full of dangling wires dripping with energon.

"You too, repairs are done. Just don't go running any circuits for the next few cycles while the welds mend."

Thundercracker pushed Skywarp out of the way and tested his weight on the repaired leg. Satisfied, he stood to his full, impressive height.

"Not bad," he commended the medic.

Knock Out scoffed, playfully offended. "Did you think I was a one trick pony? I can do more than simply look good." He raked a hand over his sleek helm and grinned rakishly.

Anna couldn't withhold her undignified snort. She was beginning to like this group of misfits. They were far more laid back than the majority of the Autobots, and they all had an amusing case of vanity in some shape or form.

"We'll that's a relief, I thought we were going to have to use your dismembered parts to find anymore use out of you." Skywarp barbed.

The red and gold Decepticon was non-pulsed when he parried, "Ah, but that's the thing, Skywarp. I love dismembered parts. If you're not careful you might start to notice that you're, shall we say, lacking bits and pieces."

In a flash of limbs Thundercracker had Knock Out lifted into the air in a headlock and a blaster attached to his arm scraped against the red mech's helm.

"Over my cold frame," Thundercracker threatened in a low rumble.

Knock Out rolled his optics and held his hands up in surrender while he dangled in the grip. "Alright, you win, just don't scratch the finish."

Thundercracker released him and Knock Out fell to his feet. The sports car looked over his shoulder to make sure his roughly handled frame hadn't been marred.

"We're leaving." Thundercracker grabbed Skywarp's forearm and bodily dragged his wingmate out of the makeshift medical bay.

"Wait, I'm supposed to be watching the fleshy human! Barricade will have my tailpipe if anything happens to it." Skywarp struggled against Thundercracker, but to no avail as he was removed from the premises.

Simultaneously, Knock Out and Anna looked at each other; she wondered what was going to happen to her now that she didn't have the hyper seeker looking over her. Could Knock Out be trusted?

The red and gold medic glared at her. "Don't. Touch anything."

* * *

Anna sat in on the makeshift berth for what felt like hours while Knock Out fiddled with a long, electronic pole that sparked from the tip every once in a while like a giant cattle prod. She easily entertained herself by creating characters in her head and playing with plot ideas she had roaming in her head. It had been a while since she had enough time to simply retreat into her mind with no real other problems requiring her immediate attention. It was soothing, like a meditation that stole her mind away for a time and kept it from thinking about unresolved problems that were eating her subconscious; namely the state of Wheeljack and her dad, and maybe if Ironhide hated her. None of that mattered or even crossed her mind when she retreated to her imaginary worlds.

Oddly, she felt more at peace in the decrepit warehouse surrounded by supposedly evil Decepticons while harboring the status of a pet than she ever had at the NEST military base. Here she had no one breathing down her neck for one reason or another. No Ironhide to drag her around like a sack of potatoes, no Skids or Mudflap to drive her insane, no Ratchet to suffocate her with restrictions, no humans scrambling around her like ants. As nice as the lull was, she was beginning to wonder where Barricade was. She could still sense him in the general area so it was safe to say he hadn't gone and abandoned her.

She was currently sprawled out on the rusted metal surface, her eyes closed while playing silent images that only she could see and hear when a rumble split the relative silence. She cracked an eye open and watched Knock Out glance back at her with a puzzled frown.

"You're not my charge, but from what I've heard about Barricade he would have my head if something was wrong with you."

Anna opened her other eye and sat up. She wrapped an arm around her lower stomach with a slight grimace.

"I haven't eaten in a while, and I need…stuff that includes a shower."

She tried not to look, or feel hopeful when she looked up at him.

"Eat…you mean fuel? I'm not dealing with this, disgusting organics, why a Decepticon would ever want one I'll never know. No, don't move, I'm contacting Skywarp."

His optics dimmed for the span of a minute before they brightened back to their natural hue of red. "He's on his way. Do me a favor and don't offline before he gets here. That way it's his fault, not mine."

Anna shuffled to her feet. "I wouldn't dream of it, I would just _hate_ to make your life miserable."

His optic ridge rose and she gave a slight smile. He wasn't anywhere near as scary as Barricade could be, and she found her mouth running freely.

"This spark sitting was supposed to be easy," Skywarp announced upon entry. "Since when do pets start demanding things?"

She had been called names all her life, demeaned in front of others, and had even tolerated being called a pet for a short time. Now she was just getting irritated.

"We'll excuse me for being a living creature with thoughts, feelings, and needs. I didn't ask for this bull corn either."

"Sure you are." Skywarp said flippantly before roughly picking her up.

* * *

Taking a trip to the store with Skywarp was interesting, to say the least. The flier didn't know the meaning of discrete. He buzzed the parking lot of a gas station just outside of town before landing in the middle of a busy street and sending every human within a hundred miles into a panic. Anna was beginning to hate his rough treatment when he dumped her painfully on the concrete mid transformation.

His landing had destroyed the pavement under his pedes, overturned a few vehicles, and instantaneously caused a twelve car pile-up. As if that wasn't enough destruction, he proceeded to tear the roof off the gas station, pluck Anna from the ground, and place her inside like it was a giant doll house. The store clerk stared at her from behind the counter with wide, frightened eyes and an incoherent stutter that trembled on his lips.

"Just grab whatever so I can blow this joint. The humans are hurting my audials." To punctuate his point Skywarp aimed a blaster mounted to his arm into the scattering crowds below and fired a concussive round that cut a high pitched scream short.

Anna shook internally as she grabbed reusable bags and began stuffing them with food and products while Skywarp cackled gleefully at the mayhem he was causing outside. A part of her was rightfully terrified, but a messed up part of her was shooting with excitement at causing such chaos. Anyone in their right mind would have been disgusted and horrified at the death Skywarp was making a game of 'targeting the screaming squishes', as he so loudly dubbed it. Something must have been mentally wrong with her because she was cracking a hysterical smile that rivaled Skywarp's. She was having fun.

Three overflowing bags later she was hailing the manic seeker to get her out of the store and to spare anymore casualties. She had to yell a few times before he acknowledged her, bending over to take the bags before dropping them into subspace.

He transformed, throwing her into the cockpit so quickly she couldn't tell up form down until gravity thrusted her into his seat in a tangled heap as he shot into the air.

There was hardly any time to register the adrenaline filled flight before Skywarp was transforming again. In one fluid motion he landed on his pedes and had Anna, her tousled hair and tangled limbs, in his claw. Her heart was beating like a rabbit's, but she was grinning from ear to ear.

"Let's do that again," she huffed, nearly breathless.

"You like flying?" Skywarp sounded intrigued while watching her try to fix her unruly hair.

She beamed up at him, feeling giddy with adrenaline.

"Hell yes! No roller coaster ride can beat that!"

He chortled in cybertronian while carrying her into the base.

"Barricade actually found an interesting pet. Maybe I should find one for myself."

She cringed and wondered if she had just sealed the fate of some hapless soul who would become the Seeker's unwilling pet. At least she would have company that way.

"Skywarp!" The mech's personal flavor of rage and irritation seeping through her internal connection was unmistakable.

"Hey, Cade," she greeted cheerfully, non-pulsed by his glaring optics and inflated approach.

Skywarp, however, looked like a giant scolded puppy when his wings sagged with his shoulders. The seeker really was the size of a horse in comparison to Barricade; Anna was being held at his chest height and was still a few inches above her 'Con.

"What did I do?" Skywarp asked innocently.

Anna wasn't sure if she should feel sorry for the seeker, an outrageous part of her wanted to pat his helm.

"You were supposed to _watch _her, not go running around town like a maladroit idiot! Do you have a screw loose?" Barricade snarled and extended a demanding hand towards her.

"I waswatching her. The squishy said it needed supplies so I got them. You should be thankful because now you won't have to," Skywarp defended with an air of confidence and dumped Anna into Barricade's waiting claw. She couldn't have been more grateful when she was caged against his chest and the world stopped flipping or otherwise bouncing in a kaleidoscope of colors.

"Yes, Warp. What part of Megatron's orders to keep a low profile did you not understand?" Thundercracker appeared from a nearby room in a hunched position, his wingspan fit awkwardly in the building's narrow halls.

"I was barely gone a breem! Besides, those humans still have no idea where we are."

A fleeting part of her wanted to come to his defense, but her aching body kept her sympathy in check.

Thundercracker bludgeoned Skywarp's facial plates and the black seeker wheeled in surprise, but ultimately lowered his wings in defeat. Anna couldn't help but notice had some abusive friends, but that was apparently what it took to keep him in check.

"Ok, Ok. Geez, I still don't see what I did wrong."

Thundercracker vented heavily and grabbed the tip of Skywarp's wing, dragging his fellow seeker off down the hall.

"Wait," Skywarp protested. "Let me drop off the squishes junk before it rots inside me."

He wiggled free of Thundercracker, who let him go, and the seeker scooted next to a quietly simmering Barricade.

"Show me where I can dump this scrap."

Barricade stepped aside and shot Skywarp a warning glance. "Follow me."

They entered a room that was only a minute away. The warehouse may have been large by human standards, but for cybertronians it was like living in a shack. Anna wondered if they could crack when crowded for too long like people did.

"Just put it down somewhere and get out," Barricade ordered.

Skywarp complied, dumping all of his and Anna's spoils from the day into a dusty corner.

"What happened to you? You've been uptight ever since coming back," Skywarp's inquired after shaking the last of the items out into a messy heap, causing a couple of bruised oranges and apples roll across the floor from in the wake of the avalanche.

Her interest perked, she hadn't noticed anything off with Barricade who was always uptight and grouchy.

"It's physically impossible to be _uptight_."

Skywarp didn't look convinced. "Don't play dumb. You've been on this planet longer than I and even have a human pet. You know what I mean."

"It's none of your business, get out," Barricade snapped.

Skywarp peered down at him, his expression indiscernible, but Anna could see his optics flickering with thought; almost instantaneously, he was smiling again.

"Just let me know if you want to bust a few heads later. All this sitting around is making my plating itch!"

Barricade watched Skywarp quit the room with brooding optics. When the seeker was out of site, her 'Con turned to a far wall and began methodically stripping abandoned machinery.

Anna watched him work; paying close attention to the way the dim light reflected off his backside and glinted off his Decepticon symbols. Skywarp had said he was 'uptight', more so than usual. She tried to concentrate on the bond to feel for anything she might have missed. His emotions were well guarded, that steam of hate he cared around his spark like a badge barricaded her from nuanced emotions. Now that she was really focusing, fumbling with the strands of their connection, she could finally recognize at least part of the problem. He was tired and agitated, no doubt harboring a lingering stress that had been present ever since his first day in the Autobot's brig.

She felt ashamed that she hadn't noticed before. The past few months had been pretty rough for him, maybe even more so than her. He drove for endless nights without rest and she didn't know the last time he had refueled. It was a miracle that he wasn't offline, really.

Barricade dug his claws into the panels of a crane and ripped them from the machine before throwing it into the pile of scrap collecting at his feet. He then produced a welder from subspace and bent over to begin arranging the sheets of hand pounded metal side by side.

She ignored her hunger, her appetite abating at the prospect of eating more energy bars, and avoided looking at the white hot center of the tool as it sparked across the metal when she approached.

"Cade?"

He pointedly ignored her, but she continued. "If you want to take a break I'll be the look out."

He shot her a glare, one she took a step back from. He apparently wasn't in the mood to talk.

Anna watched him finish his work, creating one large sheet of flimsy metal that he took from the floor and leaned against the gaping entrance as a makeshift door. He took a step back and observed his work, only marginally satisfied with it.

He then walked over to her and scooped her wordlessly into his claws. She didn't protest, and even helped by climbing into them. His silence was unnerving her, and she wondered if he was about to snap.

Barricade walked over to a conveyer belt and laid down on it, his head and pedes crushing into the machinery at either end of it. He then cupped her to his chest plating, caging her against him.

"Just let me offline for a few joors," was all he could mutter before his systems shut down.

* * *

**Random Author's note: **I finally finished catching up on the new _Prime_ series- I know, I'm _way_ behind on seeing this show- and I have to say, it's pretty darn cool. I especially like how the writers place their own spin on characters while keeping their defining quirks. Wheeljack was so different from what I imagined, yet his 'Prime' personality still works really well. I actually like Bulkhead for once, Arcee is a strong female character, Soundwave is bad-ass (I wish he could talk), Ratchet is his ever amusing control freakish self, and the humans aren't overly annoying, they actually help.

Though some people don't seem to like her much, I'm going to side with Miko. She likes to get right in the thick of things, but recognizes it's not all fun and games, even if she appears flippant about dangerous situations. She pretty much embodies every Transformers fangirl/fanboy. Who wouldn't want in on the action?

Megatron is closer to his G1 counterpart than any other continuality, in my opinion. I absolutely love the facial expressions and lighting in the show. Some of the looks Megatron gives in reaction to characters are the best.

And this all leads to Knock Out's appearance in this fic. I've always been fascinated by the idea of a Decepticon medic and have been trying to form my own OC version. Luckily, I didn't have to make one up for this fic. How can you not like the narcissist pseudo-medic who loves to race and has a twisted sense of humor? Not to mention he looks like my favorite mega expensive sports car. I also have to say, Knock Out and Breakdown make quite a pair.


End file.
